For a Competition of Dreams
by Leaflame
Summary: Ash and his friends arrive in Kanto in time to enter a tournament held once every five years. As Serena expected, Ash enters at once. But not all is fun and games, and when a dark plot begins to unfold alongside the tournament, the heroes are in for something they never saw coming. She also hopes that by the end of the tournament, things with her and Ash will change. Amour.
1. An Arrival

**Hey guys! A very warm welcome to new readers, and a welcome back to the old! I'm happy that all of are here, and now I present to you the sequel of For Each Other, and the second story of the Evoverse, For a Competition of Dreams. With that taken care of, see you all at the bottom.**

 **Just so you know, I don't own Pokemon**

 **For a Competition of Dreams**

An Amourshipping Fanfiction

Rated T for slight violence and maybe (just maybe!) a little innuendo

Chapter 1: An Arrival

"PALLET TOWN, I'M BACK!" Ash hollered as soon as the gang stepped off the plane, attracting many rather startled and confused looks. "Ash, it wouldn't kill you to be a little quieter!" Clemont hissed, embarrassed at the many stares that they were receiving, some withering, some disgruntled, some just plain surprised. "Yeah, sorry," Ash said, rubbing the back of his head, looking embarrassed. "Now, let's go home! You've gotta meet my mom!".

Serena let out a gasp as they crested the hill. Pallet Town was a beautiful patchwork of fields and houses and green, green grass. Surprisingly enough, the entire town was festooned with decorations. It was lovely. Ash was already sprinting down the path and yelling for them to hurry. "Where does he get all that energy from?" Clemont muttered before running down the path after him. Serena smiled. "You're not gonna beat me!" she shouted before tearing down the hill, Bonnie following her. She laughed out loud. It was good to see Ash's home.

Ash was beyond happy to be home. Pikachu was as well. He could feel it quivering with excitement. Then, just about twenty feet away, he saw Mr. Mime sweeping the backyard. He sped up, and decided to ignore the others' cries for him to slow down. "Mr. Mime!" he called as he neared the front porch. "MIIIME!" it yelled before tackling the young, rather handsome trainer with a hug that nearly threw him to the ground. "Good to see you, Mr. Mime!" Ash laughed out as soon as he could breathe. "Welcome back, honey!" a feminine voice said. A huge grin crossed Ashs' face as he looked at his mother, standing on the doorstep to welcome him.

Serena took one look at Delia and figured out where Ash got his charisma from. Delia's easy smile, alabaster skin, kind eyes and shiny brown hair made her an extremely likeable and rather pretty person. "You must be Ash's friends! Come on in; I've cooked a tasty meal!" "YES! I'll wash my hands, promise!" Ash said before haring into the house before his mother could even open her mouth. Delia sighed, before looking at her son's best friends. "Thank you so much for keeping my son in line, though I don't know how you did it!" she said, laughing. "Ash looked after us pretty well. He really is a true leader," he said, his admiration for Ash clear in his voice "Yeah!" Bonnie said, grinning enthusiastically. Delia smiled proudly. "He is, isn't he?" she said.

After eating Delia's delicious food, Serena felt like a very satisfied bag of cement. Delia cooked well enough to rival Clemont's best meal, maybe beat it. All of the Pokemon resembled round balls of various sizes with arms and legs, Chespin close to completely spherical. "Mom, your cooking's the best," Ash said, rubbing his full tummy. Serena laughed inwardly. He was so cute. She blushed almost immediately. Why did he have to be so cute?

"Ash, you came just in time!" Delia commented. "The Legend Competition's being held this year!" "WHAT!" Ash yelled, sitting bolt upright, all lethargy from the food forgotten. He looked ecstatic. "Yes," Delia said, and, observing the other's confused expressions, began to explain.

"The Legend Competition is probably the second biggest competition in Kanto, the Indigo League coming in first. Trainers from all over the world compete! It's only held once every five years, which is why it's so special. It's different from other tournaments, because unlike other tournaments, it involves both coordinating and battling, and it has both double battles as well as singles. Trainers themselves are tested in many other ways. Only trainers who are at the top of their class can enter, so a Performer must have 3 keys, a Coordinator must have five ribbons, and a Trainer eight badges, and so on. Ash has been dying to enter ever since he was a child, but the last one was held a only a month away from his tenth birthday. So now's your chance!" she finished, grinning.

Ash looked like he was about to explode with excitement. "We've gotta enter! Right, guys?" Ash asked, looking at his Pokemon, who looked just as excited as he was. Delia, on the other hand, looked mortified. "Ash, quiet! We have guests!" she said, looking up at the stairs. It was too late. Footsteps sounded, and four very familiar girls raced down, looking overjoyed to meet their old friend.

"Dawn! May! Misty! Iris!" Ash shouted, jumping up and running over to greet his old friends. "Long time no see!" Dawn said before high-fiving Ash. "You had to wake us up, didn't you?" Iris chided, but her smile told them a different story. Serena's heart sank. She had recognized Dawn, May, Misty and Iris by Ash's descriptions of them, but he had _completely_ forgotten to mention that all four girls were very pretty. Very, very pretty, and with good personalities as well. What chance did she stand when Ash already had such good friends? Suddenly, Dawn looked past Ash and spotted her. "Hi! You're Serena, right? Delia told us about you!" she said as she ran over and sat down next to her. "Y-yes, I am! And you're Dawn, right?" she shot back, smiling. The bluenette smiled back. Her free, easy manners made Serena feel comfortable at once.

"By the way, Ash, Dawn, May, Iris and I are competing as well," Misty informed the raven-haired trainer. "Get ready to lose!" Ash retorted. There was an air of friendly rivalry about, but it was interrupted by an all too familiar voice.

"Dawn, May, Misty, Iris, you're all keepers! Please take care of my brother!" Bonnie said, as she dropped down onto a knee and extended her hand invitingly. The 'keepers' looked confused, while an absolutely mortified Clemont used his Aipom Arm to pick the little troublemaker up. "Bonnie, I've told you not to do that a million times!" Clemont yelled, his face as red as a Tomatoberry. "But _someone's_ gotta take care of you!" Bonnie retorted. The siblings continued to bicker until Delia announced that it was time for everyone to go to sleep.

Dawn, May, Misty and Iris exchanged secretive smiles before going to sleep. It was as plain as the day that Serena had a huge crush on Ash, and everyone had agreed that Ash would never come across a more perfect girl. They would rope Brock, Gary and the others in when they arrived tomorrow.

Operation Bring Ash and Serena Together was officially on.

 **Author's note: Hi! So all of our female companions have returned, and with a devious plan in mind! The others will arrive tomorrow, along with a few other surprises. The Legend Competition is going to set the stage for what will come next, and will be the setting for almost the whole story. I'm looking forward to the next chapter; be prepared for plenty of surprises! I'm going to have good fun writing it. I'm going to throw in a few OC's as well. Oh, it's gonna be fun. With that out of the way, a big thank you to all of the awesome people who have been supporting me so far, and I hope that you will continue to do so. See you all next Sunday!**

 **Please review and keep smiling,**

 **Leaflame.**


	2. A Registration

**And I'm back! Aaaah, this chapter is gonna be full of surprises… I think. Tell me how you felt, 'kay? Chapter 2, you're on!**

Chapter 2: A Registration

"Woooow…" Serena breathed as she looked up at the big, regal castle that was going to house guest trainers, and had held registration for two days, today being the last. It was big and regal, and apparently it was well over a thousand years old. Even Ash was distracted from his excitement over the competition, and Bonnie, for once, had forgotten to ask the million pretty girls around to marry her brother. Dawn, May, Misty and Iris were also staring up in awe. Clemont… well, Serena had thought his reaction to the Pokeball Factory had been extreme. This beat it hollow. Clemont was waxing poetic about the honor of being here and bawling his eyes out. Bonnie was trying her best to look like she didn't know him, despite their striking resemblance. "Shall we register?" Ash asked, barely able to contain himself. With quick nods of assent from everyone, the group stepped inside.

The inside of the castle was as beautiful as the outside. The crowd wasn't as big as Serena expected, but that was probably because it was the last day. According to Delia, registration happened fast. The gang walked up to the desk, where a girl in a fluffy blue dress with pink ponytails that fell in ringlets stood. Serena wondered who she was. Dawn answered her question. "Ursula, what are you doing here?" she asked, as though said girls' name would contaminate her. Ash scowled. The pinkette turned around. She was pretty, but in a haughty, condescending way that made Serena dislike her at once. "Oh, it's you, Dawn. I see that you've found some friends?" Serena gritted her teeth. Even her voice made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. "Yeah," Dawn replied. "Oh, Ash, you're here too," Ursula said, and Serena saw her eyes widen. Ash had changed since Ursula had last seen him. Emotionally, yes, but physically as well. He was rather attractive. "So, Ash, would you like to join me? You're about the only worthy opponent here! The rest of you beating my Plusle and Minun. Ha!" It was taking all of Serena's self control not to roast her on the spot for blatantly flirting with Ash. "No, thanks," Ash replied.

Ursula pouted in disappointment before turning to Serena. "I know you. You're the one who accidentally made it to the Master Class finals. Serena, right?" "Thanks a lot," Serena replied coolly. "I'm counting on all of you to make Ash and I look good this competition," Ursula commented before laughing an affected laugh and leaving, saying that she had to practice with Plusle and Minun. "She hasn't changed a bit," Ash muttered

"That pink-haired menace is Ursula, my old rival," Dawn explained. "Man, she was pretty rude," Ash commented. "Agreed," a voice said. The others looked surprised, but Ash, Dawn, Misty, and Brock looked delighted. "Gary! Long time no see!" Ash said. The two exchanged a manly handshake, and after a quick round of introductions, the group moved on.

"What a fountain!" Brock commented as they passed an elegant fountain in a park where they had settled down for lunch. "Hey, Ash, remember Bianca?" Iris asked. Ash smiled wryly. "Yeah," he said. As though it was on cue, a person with green eyes and blonde hair knocked Ash straight into the fountain. "Oh no! I'm so sorry!" she yelped, looking horrified. Ash sat up, looking dazed, and sighed when he saw Bianca. "Again?" he asked. Bianca looked mortified. "Bianca, did you just knock-Ash! What a delicious surprise!" Forgetting his dip, Ash looked up, smiling widely. "Cilan! Hey there!" "Did Bianca knock you into a fountain again. Ah! What a long-lost flavour of meetings! To think that you met just the way you did all that time ago!" "What is his thing with food?" Bonnie muttered. "Cilan, if I hear you talk food _one more time_ …" Iris threatened. Cilan winced. Iris smiled at Bianca and started up a friendly chat with her. Much to everyone's surprise and delight, Cilan and Bianca were competing as well. Cilan joined the group while Bianca left to greet her father.

"You have some really amazing friends, Ash!" Clemont commented as he surveyed Ash's older rivals. The newcomers looked pleased at the comment, when a musical voice spoke. "Ash, is that you?" "Cynthia!" Ash said, spinning around to greet the Sinnoh champion. "Ash, you know the Sinnoh champion?" Clemont demanded. "Dawn, Brock and I met her in Sinnoh, and Iris and Cilan met her in Unova. Everyone, meet Cynthia!" Ash announced. "It's so good to meet you all. Are you Serena?" she asked, looking at the honey blonde performer. "Yes! It's a pleasure to meet you!" Serena said, smiling. "I saw your performance in the Master Class. It was excellent!" she said. Then she rounded on Ash. "Have you tried the scones at the café two blocks away? They're delicious!" Ash responded enthusiastically, while Dawn explained that Cynthia was a huge foodie. Cynthia also told them that all the Champions plus the Kalos Queen and a few Grand Festival winners were going to come, as the Legend Competition drew trainers from all over the world. (This excited everyone, the males in particular, as Brock declared that Aria, Diantha, Cynthia and a few other females were all beautiful, while Bonnie was hellbent on getting one of them married to Clemont. This resulted in a Poison Jab from Croagunk and a lot of flustered yelling from Clemont).

Night fell, and after saying their goodbyes and promising to meet up tomorrow, the Kalos gang headed back home. Ash was beyond excited, but one thing bothered him. Ursula. She had acted so weirdly today, and he felt really mad at her for insulting Serena. Madder than he should. He looked over to her. She was chatting with Bonnie. Her hair looked like silk, and her eyes… wait, what? "Focus," he muttered. No one heard. Ash looked up at the night sky, and wondered what was going to happen tomorrow. He grinned. He was finally going to compete in the tournament that he had wanted to compete in for years on end, and his friends were with him. Serena was with him. That was the best part. He was going to win.

 **Author's Note: Welcome back! I hope you found that chapter surprising, because I tried to make it like that. And then there's Ursula. Good God, Ursula. She is going to be very important, and while a few of you might think that I'm pushing Ash and Serena farther apart, Ursula will actually push them closer together. How? Read on and find out! This chapter proved to be surprisingly difficult to write, from bringing back past moments to making sure that I got all of the character's personalities right. I will be throwing in a few more newbies, but very few will be as important as the lot I introduced today. Ash is very excited for what's to come, which is normal. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and tell me what you thought of it! See you guys on Sunday**

 **Please review and keep smiling,**

 **Leaflame.**


	3. A Challenge

**Hey! I'm back! So, this chapter is… well, I don't know how to explain it. The Competition will start in this chapter! So, just to clear up one thing, Ash is around 15 and a half, while Serena is 15 and a quarter. Clemont is a little older, nearing 16, while Bonnie is 9. I had actually dropped a hint in Chapter One when I had mentioned that the Competition happened once every five years, with the last one just a month before Ash's 10** **th** **birthday. With that out of the way, Chapter 3, here we come!**

Chapter 3: A Challenge

Much to Serena's surprise, the LC was not held in Pallet Town or any of the cities around it. The location was a secret. At midnight, all competitors had received an email telling them to follow the blue arrows in the road, as that would lead them to the location of the Tournament. It was not very far flung, the email had explained, but close to Viridian City, eastwards of the forest. All competitors had to start at eight a.m.

At precisely eight o'clock, the heroes gathered at the starting point. They were allowed to use any one Pokemon to help them reach the stadium, and they had five minutes to do so. If they tried releasing a second, they were disqualified. A signal would be released at 8:05, locking all other Pokeballs. The first blue arrow would also appear then, and that was also the signal to start. The email had said that this was a preliminary test, and the first 10 to reach would get a special advantage. Any competitor who deviated and tried to take a shortcut would also be disqualified. Each competitor was given a small remote with a little red button on it. If they got into a bad situation, all they had to do was press the button and help would arrive. But it could only be used once. Flying types could be used as rides, but they could only fly up to 2 feet above the tree cover.

"Man, I'm psyched!" Ash said as he did a few stretches to warm up. He had chosen Pikachu for his partner. Gary had chosen Umbreon, Iris had picked Dragonite, Dawn had chosen Togekiss, Misty had selected Corsola, Brock had picked Sudowoodo, Clemont had summoned Luxray, May had, interestingly enough, picked Glaceon. Ursula had picked Gabite, and was acting fairly conceited about it, as if she had already won the whole tournament. Cilan had picked Pansage, while Bianca had taken Minccino. Serena herself had chosen Sylveon. "8:04," Gary muttered as he looked at his watch. One minute left.

Suddenly, a chime sounded and a large, holographic blue arrow pointing north appeared. Cynthia's voice rang through the air.

"Welcome, Legend Competititors, to the first challenge! You were given instructions on how to go about it last night, so do your very best! You all can start at the ten second mark!"

The first bell rang out.

Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three. Two. One.

A loud bang ran out through the area, and the throng of competitors surged forward. Ash, Serena and Clemont had decided to split up, but stay near one another. Bonnie, being underage, had been taken to the arena along with a few other kids earlier in the morning. She could already see Ash about ten feet away from her, steadily running north. Clemont was somewhere behind her. Suddenly, a push from behind made her fall over. "Ow," she muttered, staring at her newly scraped elbow. "And it looks like Ash from Pallet Town has come up with a creative strategy to dodge the crowd! Oh my, look at him go!" Gasps of admiration, and annoyance, rippled through the crowd. Serena followed their gazes and looked up. She nearly screamed out loud.

Pikachu was using its jagged tail to grip stronger vines and swing from vine to vine, with Ash holding onto it. He was safely away from the crowd and was having no trouble moving forward.

She was just wondering what to do when the commentator's voice rang out again. "And it looks like our first battle has broken out!" Serena slewed around and heard a series of explosions ring out. A trainer with an Azumarill and another with a Tentacruel had broken out. It was an intense battle, but it looked like the trainer with the Tentacruel was winning. Serena realized just how hard the challenge was then. She had to deal with natural obstacles as well as human, as attacking and battling were allowed. Suddenly, the commentator's voice sounded.

"We're seeing many creative tactics here today, and the competition's getting tough! OH MY! Dean and his Pidgeot are using an effective but rather violent tactic!"

Ash was having a great time with Pikachu when he heard shrieks from below. He looked down, and what he saw made him want to go down and knock some sense into that idiot right then and there. A blonde guy with a blue jacket was riding a large Pidgeot. It was flying close to the ground and very fast, and using Steel Wing at the same time. The pair of them were using the Steel Wing to knock others out of their path, and though that tactic was effective, it was brutal. Many trainers looked badly hurt. "I'm gonna knock that guy dead in the competition," he muttered. Pikachu let out a loud "Pika!" in agreement. A loud ping indicated another holographic blue arrow, pointing east.

The crowd was moving faster because a large number of trainers had been disqualified. It meant more space, Serena noted, but harder competition. Assorted attacks randomly flew out of nowhere, and Serena knew that she'd have to find her way out and fast. Suddenly, a large blue arrow turned up and pointed northeast. A murmur went through the crowd as they ran faster, and joined another throng of trainers. Serena looked up, and noticed that the branches were large and placed fairly close together. She looked down at Sylveon, and at the branches again, and smiled.

"Sylveon, I have an idea!" It looked up, interested. "Use your feelers to carry me and jump from branch to branch using Fairy Wind, okay?" the fairy type looked delighted to help, and Serena felt reassurance slip through her as its feelers wound around her. "Go! Use Fairy Wind!" Sylveon, aiming for the ground, used a strong burst of pink wind to leap off the forest floor onto a large branch, and kept on using Fairy Wind to leap from branch to branch. She heard the commentator immediately exult over her clever tactic, but she focused on giving Sylveon instructions and leaping from tree to tree.

The rest of the race passed in a blur. Before Ash knew what was happening, he was at the stadium, which had been located on top of a large hill. He had placed seventh, and Gary had placed ninth, with Dawn in eighth and Serena in tenth. They would all receive their advantages tomorrow. After happily reuniting with his friends, they had all gone over to the big screen to view that single battle matchups for tomorrow. Clemont, strangely enough, had frowned when he saw the board, but it had been so quick that he had dismissed it. After a good dinner, he had gone to bed, completely psyched, but a little worried. Serena's tactic was awesome, but what if she had fallen down? Then what? She had scraped her elbow too. Wait. Why was he so worried? Shaking his head, he headed to his room for a good night's sleep.

Clemont had had a surprisingly good time in the race, and he had placed fifteenth. But one thing irked him. He had seen a few trainers deviate and take shortcuts. They should have been disqualified, like many other trainers, but their faces still appeared on the screen. Why only those trainers, and why weren't they disqualified? A strong sense of foreboding washed over him, and he knew that something was off, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

 **Author's Note: Welcome back! So we have a heated race, but unfair qualifications. Why? You'll come to know soon! Ash is uncharacteristically worried about Serena, and then the secret location, and we have a new character, Dean. He'll come back. All in all a transit chapter with a few major plot details, but not too many. It was a lot of fun writing it. Now, a big, big, big hug to all of the wonderful supporters that have been showing their support through follows, favourites and reviews. Thanks a lot, guys. Now, I'll see all of you on Sunday!**

 **Please review and keep smiling,**

 **Leaflame.**


	4. A First Round

**Aaaand I'm back! I know that this is an early post, but I seriously don't have time later this evening. Chapter 4 is essentially a filler, but it does contain plot details, so stay tuned and let's go!**

Chapter 4: A First Round

"And with a skillfully placed Wild Charge, the match goes to Clemont!" the commentator, whose name was Speakshow, shouted into the mike.

Four trainers sat in the audience, their expressions ranging from mildly interested to bored stiff. "Is there any one even worth watching?" he groaned out, scowling. "There has to be!" the second, a girl, retorted. "This is only the seventh matchup. There's another 53 to go. There's going to be someone here," the third said lazily, tossing her shining brown hair over her shoulder and idly putting one leg over the other. The fourth just kept his eyes glued to the field, his blue eyes interested. "I wonder if Lucas found anyone," he murmured. By today, 20 of the 60 battles would be over. In the next two days, the 60 who entered would be narrowed down to 30, after which the next challenge would be announced.

"Any luck, Kat?" the woman with the black hair asked. The brown haired girl, hearing her name being spoken through her microphone, jumped to attention. "No, sir. Only two vaguely good competitors so far, one male and one female. "Tell me their names."

"The male's name is Clemont, while the female is called Cathy."  
"I doubt if you know it, Kat, but Clemont, the male, happens to be the leader of the Lumiose City gym in Kalos. That gym specializes in electric types. That means a plethora of Pokemon, doesn't it?" she asked silkily. "Yes, sir, it does. We are fortunate that he is here," Kat replied. "I want him watched. As for the girl, find out more about her. Clear?" "Yes," Kat replied, and began to inform her colleagues of the new development.

"Clemont, that was awesome!" Ash exclaimed, thumping him hard on the back as the Lumiose gym leader flopped into his seat between Ash and Bonnie. "You were so cool!" Bonnie said, earning her a pleased smile. Serena, leaning forward from her seat, began to speak. "Training with Luxray has been paying off, hasn't it?" she said, grinning broadly. "Speaking of training, you and Ash both need to practice for your matches tomorrow," Cilan reminded them. Ash and Serena, sitting next to each other courtesy of May, Iris, Misty, Dawn and a few others' skillful diplomacy, agreed. "Gary totally rocked his battle too," Ash commented. Gary had received his advantage, which had been the knowledge of which field he was going to battle on. He had cleverly used the water on his field to drench his fire type opponent and then knock it out. Dawn and May were due to battle tomorrow as well, and Misty and Iris on the third day. Bianca, Ursula, Dean and Cilan had all had their battles today as well. Surprisingly, they had all beaten their opponents, and were moving on to Round 2 as well.

"Sure thing. I'm due to fight tomorrow as well," an all too familiar voice said. Serena's head jerked up. "Miette!" "Hi!"

After a quick round of introductions, Miette looked at Bonnie. "Turtwigs are adorable, right?" Bonnie, May, Iris, Dawn, Misty, Gary and Cilan looked like they'd been handed birthday gifts early. "Right!" they chorused, getting surprised looks from the others.

"Man, that was good!" Ash said, rubbing his full stomach. Cilan and Clemont had combined cooking forces and produced a veritable feast, while Serena and Dawn did dessert. Suddenly, an annoying, saccharine voice cut through. "My, you survive on rubbish like this? The mains are okay, but those desserts, especially those Pokepuffs" Ursula asked, staring with apparent distaste at the remnants of food in various dishes, and then looking at Serena with a coolly disapproving look on her face. Dawn's face contorted into a snarl. "Just what are you doing here?" she asked, glaring at the pinkette. "Showing Ash here what real food tastes like," Ursula retorted. "Um, no thanks. I'm kinda full," he replied. Serena noted a clear edge to his tone, which Ursula seemed to pick up on as well. Even he was annoyed with Ursula's rude words against his friends' hard work. "Fine. I'll show you some real food sometime," she said, and flounced off.

"I can't stand her," Serena muttered as soon as Ursula left. She stood up to pick up the plates walked into the kitchen, seething. She could practically feel the steam pouring out of her ears as she walked with her armload. After the usual washing and rinsing, she heard footsteps behind her. She whirled around, glaring, and saw Dawn standing there, looking startled. "Hey,"she said. "Hi," she replied morosely. "Your Pokepuffs were great. Don't listen to her, okay?" "Really?" she asked, brightening. "Yeah! I'd have yours over hers any day," she told her. "Okay! Thanks!" Serena said, giving Dawn a big smile. Dawn mentally ticked off another reason why Serena was perfect for Ash: calms down quickly "That's great! I'm gonna hit the sack. Sleep soon, okay? Sweet dreams!"

"Goodnight!"

 **Author's Note: So our Ursula messes life up again, huh? I know that right now she seems really shallow, but she will get some character development as well. So we have a few new characters: Kat, someone called Lucas, and a lady with blue hair, and 2 others who will get detailing later. The commentator will also play a role, and I know, I know, weird name! All of our heroes have made it to the second round, and that opens up many new possibilities. Which ones will come true? All up to me, tee hee hee! Now, if any of you have requests about which Pokemon should be used in battle, I'll try to give them a role, so let me know! See you guys in the reviews and then next Sunday!**

 **Review and keep smiling,**

 **Leaflame.**


	5. A Cause

**Hi! Just so you all know, this chapter is going to be short, but important. Chapter 6, however, will be longer, promise. By the way, I got my waist length hair cut today. My head feels wonderfully light and ready to go! Chapter 5, here we come!**

Chapter 5: A Cause

Fiona stared at her computer screen, her expression clearly interested. Her long black hair was in a neat braid that flopped between her shoulder blades. Unlike yesterday, today's battles had been interesting, and had brought out several good results. The most interesting? That boy with the Greninja. She had only heard of such legends, but today they had morphed into reality. That Greninja, in its form, actually resembled the boy himself. Such a strong bond… it would be invaluable to her cause. She glanced at a photo framed in glass, showing a man with hair like her and piercing blue eyes. The next one, however, showed a headstone, with the man's photo on top.

"I'll do you proud, Father."

"Vaporeon, Aqua Jet!"

The audience oohed in admiration as Vaporeon surged forward, covered in shimmering blue water. It slammed into its opponent, a Charmander, and steam engulfed the arena as the fire type retaliated with Fire Fang. Speakshow's voice rang out. "After that explosive collision, who will come out on top? Will it be Vaporeon? Or Charmander?" he wondered, sending the audience into speculative talk.

The smoke cleared to show an unconscious Charmander and Vaporeon standing tall and proud. Speakshow's voice sounded, gleefully declaring that the winner was indeed Ursula's Vaporeon.

"Charmander is unable to battle! The match goes to Ursula and Vaporeon!"

Unlike other competitors, who would cheer with delight and rush forward and hug their Pokemon, Ursula sailed forward and delicately stroked Vaporeons' head, commending it on its successful battle. She spoke as affectionately as other trainers did, but there was an almost palpable air of smugness around her. Nevertheless, she was skilled, and Lucas watched her as intently as a predator watches prey.

Ursula felt incorrigibly good about herself. Due to her excellent battle yesterday, she had been asked to battle again today. Ash's battle had been impressive as well. He deserved to be with someone like _her_ , not Serena. She got into the finals just because the audience felt bad for her. Serena couldn't even hold a candle up to her skills. She and Ash would make a handsome couple.

She'd win him over yet.

"And the match goes to Dawn and Pachirisu! A small but difficult duo!" Speakshow hollered over the mike, as the audience gushed over the winner of one of the Wallace Cups.

"That was amazing, Dawn!" May cheered as Dawn walked into the lobby, where Ash and May were waiting for her. "Thanks!" Dawn replied, glowing over her win.

"What's that you're holding, May?" Ash asked, looking at the small packet of food in May's hand. "Oh, it's some special food that one of the Nurse Joys gave me," May replied.

"Cool!" Dawn replied.

Ash's stomach chose that precise moment to grumble about its foodless state.

Dawn laughed, and suggested that they all go eat. Laughing and talking, they all walked on toward the lunch table.

Serena looked up and grinned as soon as she saw May, who grinned back. Much to both girls' excitement, they had been pitted against one another. Their battle was due that very evening.

"May the best performer win, Serena!" May said, extending a hand out toward the honey blonde, who shook it firmly. "Let's give it our all!" Serena replied. May, pulling a Miette, suddenly pulled her close and whispered in her ears.

"Give it your all for Ash as well, okay?" May breathed. Serena immediately turned such a bright shade of red that she rivalled a Tomato Berry. "MAY!" she shrieked. May winked, pressed a finger to her lips, and ran off.

"Ready, May?" a voice asked behind her. It was the same Nurse Joy who had given her the Pokemon food. "Yes!" she replied, grinning. "Why don't you give the food to your Pokemon now?" the pinkette asked. May nodded in agreement, and summoned Glaceon, the Pokemon that she would use against Serena. "Eat up, Glaceon," she said, extending a hand that contained some food. Glaceon licked the food up.

Serena waited in the wings, holding Sylveon's Pokeball. It would be her first Pokemon against May. She knew that the brunette wouldn't hesitate to give it her all. Neither would she.

"Glaceon, I choose you!" May called.

"Sylveon, you're up!" Serena called.

Both eeveelutions appeared in flashes of blue light. "It's a battle of Eevee evolutions!" Speakshow shouted. "Battle begin!" the referee called. Both girls stanced, and Serena called the first move.

"Use Swift!" she yelled.

Sylveon flipped and attacked, and the Swift hit straight and true. Suddenly, Glaceon began to glow bright red, and the light was so blinding that everyone covered their eyes. The glow cleared.

In place of Glaceon, there was now a brown Eevee.

Glaceon had evolved backwards.

 **Author's Note: I know, I know, short chapter! But plot-heavy. We got to know who the lady with the black hair was, and now May's Glaceon evolves backwards. I know that it's not much, but this is where the main plot starts unfolding, and it sets the stage for the next chapter. Two very important facts. Lucas makes another cameo, and this chapter showed a little piece of Ursula's mind as well. Well, nothing much else except for a big thank you to those who supported and support me. See you all on Sunday!**

 **Review and keep smiling,**

 **Leaflame.**


	6. A Plot

**Hi! I'm back and better than ever! (Jeez, Leaflame, couldn't you have chosen a more original line?) No, I couldn't. For starts, this chapter is going to be long, to make up for the two short chapters I gave you. It will pick up directly from where I left off last chapter. This is going to be the only plot-heavy chapter for a long time, so it's gotta count! Chapter 6, let's go!**

Chapter 6: A Plot

Serena covered her eyes, half blinded. What was that red glow? After a few seconds, it cleared. Serena peered ahead, straining to see what had happened.

 _What the?!_

Instead of a Glaceon, an Eevee stood in its place. It had a strange, reddish aura around it. It looked surprised, and pained. It opened its mouth, and a half-strangled choking sound emerged from it before the ice-turned-normal type keeled over and collapsed, landing with a small thud that was jarringly loud in the now silent arena.

The first thing that struck Serena was May. She looked at the brunette, and was sickened by the face that met her gaze. The brunette's face was pale, her eyes wide.

"NO! What happened! Eevee, wake up, wake up, _please!_ " A sob crept into her voice.

Speakshow finally got his tongue back.

"Ladies and gentlemen, due to the strange events of today, we have decided to push this battle to tomorrow, where it will be fought along with the last 20 matchups. Trainers, please leave the field," he finished, his voice more solemn than usual.

Meanwhile, the gang was at the Pokemon Centre.

"It's okay, May. No need to worry!" Dawn said, patting a sobbing May on the back. "I d-don't know what h-happened," she whispered. "One minute it was a Glaceon, and the next, an Eevee! And the worst thing. It won't wake up, _it won't wake up_!" she wailed, before curling into a ball and crying even harder. Ash had a worried frown on his face. He reached forward and gripped May's shoulder. Serena felt a twinge of jealousy, and banished it instantly. Ash and May were friends. "May, crying won't help Eevee now," he said gently. May wiped her eyes, and looked up at Ash. "Yeah, you're right. I'll try to be strong," she said, cracking a small smile.

A small _ping_ sounded. Everyone looked up. Nurse Joy walked out, holding a small clipboard. Serena immediately felt the customary prick of surprise. Nurse Joys looked different here. "How's Eevee doing?" May asked anxiously.

"It's vitals are steady and physically it looks like an Eevee, but I don't understand why it evolved backwards, or why its unconscious. I'll keep a close eye on it, and let you know if there are any changes," the pinkette promised.

Kat was over the moon. The experiment had worked perfectly. Now all that was left was to inform Fiona.

"Yes, Kat?"

"The experiment worked perfectly, ma'am. The reversal happened perfectly," Kat replied, without even realizing that she had repeated the same word in one sentence.

"Yes, I noticed. I'm very pleased with the results, but they happened at the wrong time. It was far too dramatic, and too open. We don't want people getting suspicious. This is already going to cause a big hue and cry. Word travels fast, and there are way too many strong people in one place. She messed up. The food was administered too early. We need to lie low for a bit," Fiona finished.

"All right, then," Kat replied.

"Sienna, Mike, David! Listen up!" Kat said, tugging lightly at David's sleeve. A pair of striking, deep blue eyes met hers, accompanied by a shock of brown hair. "Yes?" David asked. Another pair of green eyes matched with the same brown hair turned her way, just like his brother's. She had Mike's attention as well. Sienna, a blonde girl with brown eyes, was looking at her questioningly. She leaned in to tell them of the new development.

Gary didn't like how May's Eevee was looking. How did it evolve back like that, and what was that red aura? A researcher's questions were flooding his mind, and he was determined to get answers.

"Well, Ash, you're up tonight!" Dawn commented. Ash's face was glowing. He was pumped for his battle. Serena couldn't take her eyes off of him. Finally, she went ahead.

"Best of luck, Ash!" she said, walking up to him and giving him a big smile. Ash was suddenly, and acutely aware of how her eyes looked like a summer sky. He was now filled with even more drive to win. Anything to see that smile again. "Thanks! I'm gonna win this thing!" he declared, and turned around, heading off for his fight.

Kat looked at her watch. Lucas should've been here five minutes ago. At this rate, he were going to miss that boy with the Greninja's match. Fiona had been particularly keen on him. She looked up.

"You're late!" she snapped.

"Sorry," the young man said, coming over and sitting next to her.

Lucas looked at the field, his electric blue eyes scanning it, not missing a single detail. His strawberry blonde hair waved in the wind.

"So, how was the experiment?"

"Oh, that Glaceon?" Lucas asked, wincing..

The other four nodded.

"Tell us, then. Don't stand here doing nothing," Sienna said, a little snappishly.

"It messed up the timing. The food should've been given later, but looks like Zorua gave it a little too early," Lucas replied, stroking the little Zorua that was now sitting in his lap.

"Oh, so Zorua changed into Nurse Joy? Smart," Mike commented.

"It can talk like a human?" Kat asked, interestedly.

"Zorua comes from a line that has an unusually good memory, and their speciality is being able to speak like whatever they transform into," Lucas explained.

"Hmmmm," David said, looking impressed.

Just as Kat opened her mouth to speak, Speakshow cut her off.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back for the final battle today! Two rather talked-about trainers are going head to head!"

The audience roared.

"From the right, Cathy Redworth, from Blackthorn City!"

Cheering erupted.

"And from the left, we have Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town!"

 **Author's Note: Phew! Quite an interesting chapter, and a lot of new introductions! Lucas finally makes his entrance, along with a Zorua! We finally get the names of Kat's colleagues. We also know what is up with May's Eevee, and Gary seems fairly curious. Cathy also makes her entrance, and next chapter's battle will be quite interesting! This was pretty plot-heavy, as more of Fiona's idea comes to light. What next? All will be revealed in good time! Before I hibernate for the rest of the week, a big thank you to all the wonderful people who support and have been supporting me. You guys mean a lot. It's true, as sappy as it sounds. See you all on Sunday!**

 **Review and keep smiling,**

 **Leaflame.**


	7. A Battle

**Hi and welcome back! So, from this chapter on it's basically going to be a bunch of action scenes, character development and minor plot detailing. The first reason is that the main stage has been set now, and the second reason is that I have my exams coming up and I need to study, so I won't have time for very important scenes. With that cleared, time for Chapter 7!**

Chapter 7: A Battle

As soon as Ash's name was called, all of Pallet Town cheered loudly. He walked out onto his place on the field, and gave his opponent a challenging smile. Cathy returned it. She was about his height, with pale pink hair that fell in a bob, aqua-coloured eyes and pale alabaster skin. She wore a white half sleeved T-shirt with a pink trim a red shrug that reached her elbows, and bright red shorts with red and blue sneakers. "It's a pleasure to meet you! Sorry, but I'm going to win this thing!" she called.

"Same here, but I'm gonna walk out the winner!" Ash retorted. They looked like they wanted to exchange more words, but the referee cut them off.

"The Pokemon battle between Competitor Ash and Competitor Cathy will now begin! This will be a two on two Pokemon battle, and the battle will be over when all 2 Pokemon on either side are unable to battle! There will be no substitutions!"

Ash wasn't surprised. His advantage had been knowing that no substitutions were allowed. Cathy, on the other hand, tensed almost imperceptibly.

"The field is a water and rock field!"

Cathy smiled. Having placed in the top ten, she had known what her field was going to be.

The field had a large wall of rock, and the surrounding area was rock as well, riddled with the bumps, and the occasional boulder. The wall had three rivers gushing down it, and these currents branched into tiny rivulets that wove in and out of the rock. The referee continued.

"Competitors, present your first Pokemon" he called.

"Hitmonlee, let's go!" Cathy called, throwing her Pokeball out. A graceful Hitmontop emerged from it.

"And Cathy's first Pokemon is Hitmonlee!" Speakshow said.

Ash grinned. A fighting type, huh?

"Hawlucha, I choose you!" he shouted, flinging his own Pokeball outwards. Hawlucha burst out of his Pokeball, and immediately began posing in its usual macho poses.

"Trust Hawlucha to start posing!" Clemont said, laughing, while Serena and Bonnie immediately began to tell the others Hawlucha's story.

"Ash's first Pokemon is Hawlucha! It's a fighting type battle!" Speakshow announced gleefully.

"Battle begin!" the referee called.

Cathy wasted no time.

"Use Pound!" she called.

Hitmonlee leaped upwards and raised its right arm, which glowed white. It then dove straight for Hawlucha with dazzling speed.

"That Hitmonlee is fast. Ash had better watch his step," Gary commented, while Clemont nodded in agreement. Ash had other ideas.

"Hawlucha, dodge it!" Ash yelled.

The fighting and flying type leapt upwards and glided to the left just as Hitmonlee smashed the rock where Hawlucha had been standing.

"An excellent Pound from Hitmonlee, but Hawlucha dodges it!" Speakshow yelled.

Cathy frowned. Ash was fast.

"Hawlucha, jump and use Karate Chop!" Ash yelled. Hawlucha leaped into the air, its claw glowing.

"Jump and use Sky Uppercut!" Cathy yelled.

Both Pokemon met in the air, and punched one anothers' faces.

"Looks like equal damage has been dealt!" Speakshow announced.

"Both are equal matches in speed and strength. It's a matter of strategy, and they know it," Clemont said. Gary nodded in agreement.

"Looks like I'll have to use strategy, huh?" he muttered, looking at Cathy carefully from across the field.

"Use the rocks! High Jump Kick!" she called.

Hitmonlee leapt from rock to rock, faster and faster, before leaping at Hawlucha and kicking it hard in the side.

"No! Hawlucha!" Ash yelped as his best friend crashed into one of the rock walls' rivers with a huge splash that soaked a considerable area. Wait… that splash. An idea zinged through his mind, and he had to do it quick, before Hawlucha ran out of steam.

"What use of the field! Hawlucha took quite a lot of damage! Will it still fight?" Speakshow wondered.

Cathy saw her chance. "While it's winded! Pound!"

Hitmonlee immediately leaped for Hawlucha, who dodged in the nick of time. It landed, panting. Ash tensed. Now or never.

"Use Karate Chop into one of the rivers, max power!" Ash yelled.

It obliged. Hawlucha leapt at the central river and drove a Karate Chop into it, splashing Hitmonlee with a good dose of water.

"Using a Karate Chop in the water? What could Hawlucha be doing?" Speakshow wondered.

"I know that face," Dawn muttered. They all looked at one another

Hitmonlee leapt back soaked.

"Shake the water off!" Cathy yelled. Ash saw his chance.

"FLYING PRESS!" he screamed, pumping both fists.

Hawlucha roared and leapt into the air before spinning with dazzling speed, glowing red and landing straight on top of Hitmonlee with an impact that caused a dust cloud to sweep across the field.

"NO! Hitmonlee!" Cathy cried, peering into the cloud. It cleared to reveal an exhausted Hawlucha standing tall and proud, and Hitmonlee out cold on the ground.

"Hitmonlee is unable to battle! The winner is Hawlucha!"

"Yeah!" Ash cheered, before running onto the field to hug his friend.

"What a move! Using the water to stun Hitmonlee before finishing off with a deadly move! Excellent!" Speakshow hollered.

"Classic Ash!" May said, while Bonnie and the rest of the Pokemon jumped around and cheered.

"He did it. Just as I knew he would," Serena whispered.

"You did very well, Hitmonlee. Take a nice long rest," Cathy said, calling Hitmonlee back into its Pokeball. She looked at Ash.

"I'm impressed! Not many people beat Hitmonlee that well," she called.

Ash nodded his thanks. Meanwhile, Cathy swung her next Pokeball.

"Scizor, you're up!" she called.

Scizor appeared.

It had a Mega Stone fixed on its wrist via a bracelet, while Cathy now held a Keystone.

 **Author's Note: This battle is really heating up! And Cathy's Scizor can Mega Evolve? How, if Cathy is native to Johto? You'll find out soon enough! Ash seems to be rocking this battle, but how to our five in the audience react to it? I haven't forgotten them, you know. They are still watching. All will be revealed in the next chapter! Now, I have some bad news. My exams are coming close, which means I can't update as often. Chapter 8 will now release on 6** **th** **August, 2017. I'm really sorry about this! I've moved up a grade, so the syllabus is way harder and bigger. If I can update then I will, but it will most probably air on the date I've given. I'm gonna miss you guys!**

 **Now, before I vanish away on an unwanted vacation, a big thank you to all of the wonderful people who have supported me so far! You guys are the absolute best, and there's no doubt about it. I hope I'll see you all on the 6** **th** **! See you guys soon!**

 **Review and keep smiling,**

 **Leaflame.**


	8. A Team

**I'm BACK! And I'm so happy about it! My exams are over, and I'm raring to go! One last thing that I forgot to mention: Ash and Cathy have already had their battles, but they were put head to head again because they were the best of their batch, similar to Ursula's case. Both are moving on to Round 2. This battle will simply put a few things to light on Cathy. See you below.**

Chapter 8: A Team

The minute Cathy revealed her Keystone, the five agents in the audience sat up straighter. A Trainer with a Pokemon that could Mega Evolve? That would be invaluable.

The pinkette in question didn't waste any time.

"Scizor, to repay our debt! Mega Evolve!"

Scizor let out a sharp, keening cry as its Megastone lit up, blazing. As Ash had seen so many times before, the two starbursts of light connected, and Scizor, now glowing brightly, began to change. Ash's blood pounded hard and fast through his veins. This was going to be one awesome battle.

The light cleared, and the audience immediately cheered approvingly at the sight of Mega Scizor. Its two large pincers had enlarged and had turned serrated on the inside, the lower white half serrated on the outside as well. Its legs had turned into long, sharp knives, while its torso had shrunk. Its head now had a black crest on it that separated into three horns, the original 3 were longer, harder and sharper.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WE HAVE A MEGA SCIZOR ON THE FIELD!" Speakshow hollered, delight eminent in his voice.

Hawlucha tensed visibly at the sight of such a strong opponent, but Ash wasn't deterred in the least. "Hawlucha, we can do this! X-Scissor!"

Hawlucha crossed its arms into an X-Scissor and leaped forward, charging straight for Scizor. "Dodge it!" Cathy called.

Mega Scizor jumped backward just as Hawlucha was within striking distance, the former landing effortlessly on its feet. "Ash goes in with an X-Scissor, but Scizor dodges easily!" Speakshow commented, surprise in his voice at the Pokemons' speed.

Hawlucha skidded to a halt, and for a split second, halted. Cathy wasted no time. "Razor Wind!"

Scizor leaped in front of Hawlucha, and released a powerful Razor Wind that hurled the flying/fighting type right into the rock wall. There was a blast of sand and rock. As soon as it cleared, the audience gasped in surprise.

There was a huge hole in the thick rock, and Hawlucha lay unconscious on the other side of it.

"Hawlucha, NO!" Ash yelled.

"Hawlucha is unable to battle. Scizor wins!" the referee called.

"And with that powerful hit from Scizor, the score is now even, with each trainer having only one Pokemon left!" Speakshow called.

Ash took a deep breath, and took Greninja's Pokeball off his belt.

"Greninja, I choose you!" The audience oohed instantly, remembering Ash's previous battle, while Cathy and Scizor tensed. They had both seen Ash's first battle, and knew how powerful that Greninja could be.

"And Ash's last Pokemon is Greninja!" Speakshow said, a clear undercurrent of excitement running through his voice.

"Clemont, Greninja's up!" Bonnie exclaimed. "Yes, it is," Clemont agreed, sounding pretty stoked himself. "He'll win for sure," Serena said confidently. "But Ash was battling against a Pokemon that couldn't Mega Evolve last time, and Scizor can match it in strength no problem, and its fast. Ash will either have to outsmart Cathy or simply outrun her, both of which are hard," Gary said, looking down with a thoughtful expression at the field. Clemont nodded in agreement, and Brock nodded his agreement as well.

"He can do it," Serena said, looking confidently down at the field, while the others grinned mischievously.

"Greninja, let's do this!" Ash called. He felt the synchronization happen; felt their hearts beat as one.

Greninja was immediately surrounded in a tornado of water, which cleared and formed its glowing blue shuriken, which was attached to its back, its appearance changed to resemble Ash's.

"And we have Greninja's new form on stage! Ladies and gentlemen, I don't think that this has ever happened in any Competition before!" Speakshow yelled, while the audience screamed their approval even louder.

Kat, Sienna, David, Mike and Lucas were perfectly erect in their seats, all their focus on the ensuing battle. This kind of power… Fiona would be so pleased with them. And then… maybe their lives would be a little happier.

Cathy and Ash faced one another, eyes blazing, their strongest Pokemon in front of them. They both mentally resolved to give this battle everything they had.

Cathy struck first. "Use Metal Claw!" she yelled, sweeping an arm out toward Greninja. Scizor, picking up on its trainers' feeling, lunged across at the ninja frog with dazzling speed. "Use Cut!" Ash yelled. Greninja summoned a glowing white sword and ran for Scizor with the same breathtaking speed and met the oncoming attack head on, Cut against Metal Claw.

There was a blaze of light and a burst of lightning, and both Pokemon sprang apart, breathing hard. Ash took a deep breath. He would end this now. He felt Greninja tense, ready, aware of its trainers' intentions.

"Let's wrap this up! Water Shuriken!" he shouted.

Greninja whipped the glowing blue throwing star off its back, and hurled it forward, the blades rotating fast.

"Night Slash! Finish it!" Cathy yelled. Scizor sent a purple arc of energy to meet the shuriken. The attacks met with a huge explosion.

The smoke cleared. After a second, Scizor dropped down, KOed.

The audience roared. Ash's friends in the audience whooped and cheered, Misty accidentally hugging Gary, which caused both of them to blush.

"Scizor is unable to battle! The match goes to Ash!"

"Ladies and gentlemen, after that heated battle, Ash comes out on top!" Speakshow yelled.

Cathy returned Scizor to its Pokeball after a few encouraging words, and stepped off the field, while Ash gave Greninja a high five.

They had won.

"Ash, that was amazing! You never fail to surprise me!" Clemont said, fistbumping Ash. "That was a good battle. Not too shabby," Gary said, grinning, while Iris gave Ash a quick word of praise before clamping a hand onto Cilan's mouth, the latter going off into raptures of food on Ashs' battle.

"You were really amazing back there!" Serena said, facing her crush with a bright smile.

The others offered the same praise before heading off to bed and a good dinner.

Lucas sat down on a little hill in the forest, staring into space. Today had been interesting, to say the least. That battle had been something else. He looked down at the pendant on his neck, and opened the clasp, revealing a picture inside.

"I'll do you proud, Meera."

 **Author's Note: Welcome back, and a very, very, very happy Friendship Day to all my wonderful supporters! And a happy Raksha Bandhan to all my Indian supporters too. So our battle ends with Ash as the victor, and we now know a little bit of our five's motives. Not a very plot-heavy chapter, but a good one (hopefully). I'm so glad to be back, and I'm free! No more exams!**

 **Now, before I disappear again, a huge thank you to all my amazing supporters out here! You guys are the best. I mean it. Review and tell me your thoughts on this chapter. I can't wait to answer! I'm gonna miss you! See you on Sunday!**

 **Review and keep smiling,**

 **Leaflame.**


	9. A Flashback

**Hello! A warm welcome back! So, last chapter, we had Ash vs Cathy, which was on Day 3, which means that Round 1 is now over. Just kidding! We still have Misty and Iris, but they won't take up much place. The second round will be introduced in this chapter. What is Round 2? You shall see!**

Chapter 9: A Flashback

"Lucas, are you ever gonna wake up?" a voice asked.

"Yes, Meera, coming!"

Lucas slipped out of the Pokemon Centre, where his twin sister waited for him, smiling somewhat exasperatedly at her older twin, who looked half asleep.

"Let's get going. I know that we can get across the pass by today, and then we'll be out of Snowbelle City, if someone I know learns how to walk a little faster than a Slowbro," Lucas said, grinning. Meera scowled and picked up her pace, and walked past her brother, who had to jog to catch up with her.

The day went on and on, and it was close to noon when the siblings were walking under a small cliff, which was weighed down with snow. They had just taken a break, and were almost out of Snowbelle City. Lucas was laughing at one of Meera's jokes when suddenly, there was an ominous cracking sound from above their heads.

Lucas looked up, sick with fear, because he knew what was coming next. Everything happened in slow motion after that. He saw the thick snow on top of the cliff break, piece by big piece, and thunder down towards them, larger and more terrifying by the second. He braced to be crushed.

And then it happened. He felt someone push him hard, felt himself fall hard, having the breath knocked out of him, felt sharp, agonizing pain flash through the back of his head.

He lay there, dazed, before passing out.

Only when he woke up at the Pokemon Centre a while later did he realize that Meera was gone.

"Ash and Cathy are going to be hard act for our Round 3 competitors to follow! But we'll just see!" Speakshow boomed.

The two trainers in question were now seated in a warm huddle in the audience, Cathy having joined the group. "I wish that he would stop praising us like that," Cathy fretted, while Ash rubbed his nose, embarrassed. "Ash, I personally thought that your battle was amazing. You were brilliant as well, Cathy," Clemont said warmly. "You were soo cool!" Bonnie said, her blue eyes glowing. "Thanks a lot, you guys," Ash said, while Cathy gave them a bright smile. Speakshow's eternally loud voice blared through the peaceful moment.

"And for our first competitors! From the left wing, it's Lucas! From the right, it's Manuel!" he announced, as both trainers walked over onto their respective places.

The referee made the call, and the battle begun, while a pair of electric blue eyes that didn't belong to Lucas fixed themselves on the latter. Watching the practiced skill by which her trounced his opponents' Pokemon, his clear voice giving a series of commands. He had grown into his slender, strong frame, and was more of a man. Shoulders broader, collarbones more prominent.

"Zorua, finish it with Shadow Ball!" Lucas yelled, swiping a hand outward. Zorua leaped high into the air before firing a large Shadowball and finishing off Manuels' worn out Electivire.

"Electivire is unable to battle! The match goes to Lucas!"

The audience exploded into applause, and proud tears dripped out of electric blue eyes.

"And it looks like this strong young man moves onto Round 2 with an outstanding Shadow Ball!" Speakshow boomed.

Ash leaned forward. "He's strong. Fast, too," he murmured. Matter of fact, all of the competitors present looked interested in the days' proceedings, while David, Sienna, Kat and Mike clapped and whooped as well.

"That was really good," Mike said, thumping Lucas hard on his back. The remaining three were quick to offer the same praise.

Iris and Misty won their battles as well, with skill, speed and strength. Gary felt his face heat up at the end of Mistys' battle. A trainer called Astrid won too.

She took a deep breath. Hers was to be the last battle of the day, but she had disguised herself, and covered her face.

"Last but not least! Mary versus Montgomery!"

Ash scowled. "Do you know him?" Serena asked.

"Yeah. He's really arrogant," Ash commented.

"Hope that Mary, whoever she is, beats him," Iris commented, while Cilan nodded in agreement.

"Trainers, release your Pokemon!" the referee called.

"Espeon, let's go!" Mary yelled, while Montgomery called for Throh.

"Throh, use Bind!"

"Dodge it!" Mary retorted.

"And a neat Bind from Montgomery, but skilfully dodged!" Speakshow boomed.

The fierce battle ensued, with Ash and the others, and the agents nearly fell off their seats with excitement. However, Mary won.

"Now that all 60 battles are over, here's Round 2! Competitors, look to the screen!"

The large screen that normally showed the faces of the trainers battling and their Pokemon showed a map.

"The rubrix is simple. You will be formed into teams of three, and one of each team will wait at the three highlighted parts of the map. Each checkpoint will have a challenge that the member shall have to do before crossing the distance and giving the baton to the next person. The team to finish first wins, and the top six teams will move on to Round 3!

"That sounds awesome!" Ash said, grinning from ear to ear. "It will be spicy!" Cilan said, laughing. "I'm gonna beat you all," Gary declared. "We'll just see," Dawn replied. "All of you are such kids," Iris said, while May retorted that she was ready to beat them all.

"Ash, I hope you're in my team tomorrow," Ursula said with a small smile on her face in her silkiest voice.

"Uh, thanks," Ash said. Ursula paused, gave the others a distasteful glance and swept away.  
"Long story," Dawn said, answering Cathy's puzzled look.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm looking forward to tomorrow's round," Brock said.

"So am I, but don't expect me to hold back," Clemont said. Ash fistbumped him.

"No skimping on my part," Cathy replied.

Everyone said their goodnights and went to bed, wondering what would await them tomorrow.

 **Author's Note: Welcome back! Now, before you roast me, I didn't elaborate on Misty's, Iris's or Mary's or even Astrid's battles purely because they weren't important as of now. This chapter focused on Lucas's backstory, and we have a new character: Mary. More on her later. This chapter also shifts the whole story to a different outlook with Round 2, which will be fun to write about.**

 **Now, before I hibernate for a week, a big, big, big shoutout to all the wonderful people who have supported me thus far. You guys are the best. I don't have a lot for today, sorry. See you all on Sunday!**

 **Please review and keep smiling,**

 **Leaflame.**


	10. A Group

**Hey! So, guys, how did your week go? Tell me later. Now, we have reached Chapter 10, and the start of Round 2. Last chapter was a plot-heavy one, but nothing like that until Chapter 13. Let's get this going!**

Chapter 10: A Group

"You've gotta be kidding me," Dawn muttered as she stared irritably at the board which showcased the groups of three that would be taking part in the race that was the second round of the competition. One of the things that it showed was that Dawn, Ursula and Ash were in the same group, which did not spell out the best news.

"Not too bad, eh?" Misty asked, elbowing Serena, who was in her group along with Astrid. Gary, Lucas and Clemont were put together, while May, Iris and Dean were put together as well. Brock, Cathy and Bianca formed another. Mary was in another group with two other trainers that Dawn didn't know of. There were fifteen other trainers as well, scattered all over the arena, chatting.

"Good morning, trainers, ladies, gentlemen!" Speakshow boomed, spreading out his hands, a benevolent look on his face. The audience quieted, looking at the board.

"Here is the map!" Speakshow announced, and a map of western Kanto appeared.

"The first checkpoint is at Professor Oak's Lab, Pallet Town. Trainers at Checkpoint 1 have to go through an obstacle course set through a part of the town before entering the Viridian Forest. The second checkpoint is outside Viridian Forest. Trainers, once they have received the baton, must perform any 3 appeals that may be used in a Showcase or a Contest. Trainers will then be directed to Cinnabar Island, where a boat will take them onto the island, where the third checkpoint is. Trainers at the last Checkpoint must swim to the mainland, where they will make their way back to Pallet Town! Groups, it is up to you to decide which trainer goes where!" Speakshow finished.

Dawn turned back to Ash and Ursula.

"I'll take the first round," Ash said.

"I'll take the second," Dawn offered, but Ursula cut her off.

" _I'll_ take the second round, as you can't really coordinate," the pinkette said, sneering.

Ash stepped forward, looking like he wanted to say something, but Dawn was faster.

"I'm okay with the last round," she said cheerfully.

"Dawn, are you sure?" Ash asked, looking at her worriedly.

"Yeah, no need to worry! If Ursula messes up, then it's all on her!" Dawn said brightly, and threw a triumphant glance at the pinkette, who scowled back.

The bluette looked around, and saw Astrid animatedly chatting with Misty and Serena, who chatted back. All of her friends looked happy and ready to go.

"Trainers moving to Checkpoints 2 and 3, please mount the two helicopters with your respective checkpoint numbers!" Speakshow called.

"Guess that's our cue!" Dawn said brightly. "All the best, Dawn, Ursula!" Ash said, grinning his usual heart-melting grin. "Thank you so much, Ash," Ursula said, and reached out to lightly touch Ash's face. Dawn resisted the almost overwhelming urge to snap Ursula's hand in half. She gave Ash a friendly high-five, and made her way off to the waiting helicopters.

With Dawn and Ursula now gone, Ash turned his mind to the race. He looked around, and spotted Astrid, Gary, Iris, and Cathy.

He looked ahead at the town, which was now an obstacle course, and it was not easy. Speakshows' voice cut across his observation.

"All trainers have reached their checkpoints! The second round starts at the Flamethrower, in five seconds! Trainers, choose any one Pokemon!"

The town was silent as the gongs sounded.

Five.

Four.

Three.

Two.

One.

The Flamethrower went up, and the Round 1 trainers surged forward.

Ash had chosen Hawlucha this time, and he was glad for it. The first of three obstacles loomed up ahead. A rock wall. "Let's do this!" he said, glancing down at his fighting-type partner.

Ash and Hawlucha grabbed onto the wall and leapt up onto the first pedestal, grabbing tightly and moving up.

"Hawlucha, I have an idea!" he yelled.

Hawlucha looked at him momentarily. Ash leaned in and began to explain.

Cathy was working her way up the wall with her Hitmonlee when she heard gasps of admiration. She looked over and saw something that made her stop dead.

Ash and his Hawlucha were simply jumping their way from pedestal to pedestal instead of laboriously climbing. Hawlucha would jump off the ground and flap its wings, and Ash would grab onto its ankles and jump as well, which was enough the get them onto the next pedestal.

"Looks like Ash and Hawlucha are applying a fairly ingenious strategy!" Speakshow yelled.

Around her, strategies were getting more creative. Astrid was using her Pyroar, which would blast flames at the ground, lifting trainer and Pokemon onto the next piece of rock. Gary was using Electivire's appendages to hook into crevices and swing up; Lucas and Zorua were using Shadow Claws to grab pedestal after pedestal to swing up. The competition was getting intense, especially because trainers were throwing attacks at one another. Cathy herself was using Himonlee's Pound to jump from rock to rock.

All was going well, until there was a loud crack. Cathy looked up.

A large outcrop of rock had broken loose, and was now falling toward the climbing trainers.

 **Author's Note: Cliffhanger, after a while! What will happen to our trainers? All will be revealed next week! Now I'm sure all of you are cursing me for the short chapter, but I promise that next weeks' will more than make up for it. So, we have a few good teams and one unlikely team of Dawn, Ursula and Ash. I know that as of now they are not exactly working together, but they will have to in the future. I know what you guys are thinking: what about Serena? She will get her screentime a little while later. I'm drawing Ursula closer into our heroes' group for a purpose, and it shall be revealed soon enough. Now that I'm done with that, the usual heartfelt thank you to all the wonderful people who are supporting this writer! I'll see you all on Sunday!**

 **Review and keep smiling,**

 **Leaflame.**


	11. An Appeal

**Hey! I'm back and ready to go! One thing, guys: I didn't include Cilan in the last chapter, but he'll be here this time. With that cleared, onto Chapter 11!**

Chapter 11: An Appeal

Ash and Hawlucha watched in horror as the outcrop tumbled down towards them, and the other trainers alongside him. His senses then jerked into action. He reached out and grabbed Hawlucha's shoulders.

"Hawlucha, I'm hanging onto you! Jump and then glide!" he yelled, over the ruckus of other trainers shouting commands to their own Pokemon.

"Haw!" Hawlucha cried as it leaped off to the side and then twisted, opening up the skin that connected its arms to its sides and glided, landing well out of the rock's range.

He saw Cathy and Hitmonlee about twenty feet away; Astrid and Pyroar land somewhere to his left; Iris and Axew land nearby as well, and another girl landed not too far away, holding a Shaymin. But Gary was missing. Fear roiled in Ash's chest. Had he been crushed? "Gary! Hey! You there?" Ash screamed, yelling as loudly as he could.

The other trainers took up his call, until all the trainers participating in the first section were calling for Gary and four other missing trainers. Then, voices called from the other side of the rock. Speakshow's voice rang out.

"After that planned obstacle, shall we let the race continue?" Speakshow asked. Laughter was evident in his voice.

"Planned?" Ash said incredulously. The other trainers around him were more than disgruntled.

Almost on cue, the large rock disappeared. It had merely been a hologram.

"We had wanted to test your reaction timing to sudden and dangerous situations. This is the LC, after all!" Speakshow boomed. "Now, on your mark, get set, go!"

The race continued.

Ash ran for the next obstacle: jumps. Multiple platforms rose and fell at irregular heights, and the goal was to get across. Hawlucha ran along next to him.

They jumped onto the first platform, and then looked for another one that he could leap onto.. It was too far off, and Ash saw other trainers gaining on him. "There's gotta be another way," he murmured, gazing at the platforms. Then, he saw something.

Some platforms fell unusually low before going up really high. If he could jump off at the right time…

"Hawlucha, I have an idea," he said, grinning.

Gary was leaping from platform to platform, not caring about the height of it. He was simply using Electivire's Thunder Punch to jump from platform to platform. Cathy was nearby. She was using the platforms that went unusually high up to leap over two or three at once; Iris and Astrid were moving ahead as well. He glanced over at Ash, and smiled wryly. Unpredictable, as usual.

He was leaping onto low platforms, went along with them, and jumped off midway. Typical.

"We're seeing a lot of really creative strategies today, and all ten of our trainers have now crossed the jumps! Who will reach first?" Speakshow asked.

Ash spotted Ursula standing at the very front, stretching out her hand to reach the baton, which hung around Ash's neck. Her Vaporeon stood beside her.

"Go!" Ash yelled, pulling the baton over his head, and passed it to Ursula as he crossed her.

He saw Cathy pass her baton to Bianca, and then Nurse Joy pulled the exhausted pair aside. He didn't know who was more exhausted: him or Hawlucha.

As soon as Ash passed his baton to Ursula, Speakshow's voice boomed.

"Trainers in Section 2, you have two minutes to put on your appeal at the appeals section towards your left before the first arrow directing you to Cinnabar Island appears! Be warned: it will only last for 3 minutes! Your time starts now!" the commentator said.

Serena jerked her head to the oncoming wave of trainers, scanning it desperately, Braixen beside her, doing the same. _Astrid, where are you?_

May was next to her, looking for Iris. Her expression was mirrored on Serena's face.

Then, she saw a head of pale lemon-blond hair with a purple barrette come into her range of sight, along with a Pyroar.

"Here!" Serena yelled. "Take it! All the best!" Astrid yelled, as she passed her baton to Serena and Braixen. The duo raced off to the performance section, where Ursula was halfway through an admittedly beautiful performance. "Vaporeon, finish it with an Aqua Jet!" the pinkette called while dancing. Vaporeon went straight into the air with an Aqua Jet and twisted, causing the Aqua Jet to break all around it, sending particles of water shimmering everywhere. Serena wasted no time.

"Let's do this! Braixen, Hidden Power, up in the air!"

Braixen twirled and fired a Hidden Power high into the air. "Brai!"

"Now use Scratch!" she called, clasping both hands in front of her. Braixen leapt upon them went upwards, claws flashing as Serena spun away. It shredded the ball of light with a few deft swipes, leaving sparkles everywhere. It flipped back down.

"Let's finish this! Fireblast!"

Both Trainer and Pokemon grabbed the stick and threw a Fireblast into the air, which exploded into red sparkles.

May was finishing her appeal beside her.

"Glaceon, wrap this up with Shadow Ball!"

A purple and blue explosion finished their performance.

Clemont himself was faring surprisingly well, Serena noticed.

"Luxray, finish it with Swift!" Clemont yelled.

Luxray leapt up and fired two rounds of Swifts which collided with one another in a burst of yellow stars.

Bianca and Cilan had also finished their routines.

"Minccino, finish with Attract!" Bianca called out.

"Pansage, let's finish this with Solar Beam!"

A beautiful white explosion ended his performance. Almost on cue, a blue arrow appeared with a pinging sound.

"Trainers, your race to Cinnabar starts now! On your mark, get set, go!" Speakshow yelled.

Serena smiled. Ash's brown eyes danced in her mind. _Nothing we ever do is a waste of time._ This race was on.

 **Author's Note: So the first part of the second section of the race is on! How will our heroes fare? All will be revealed in good time. By the way, Cilan and Mary are in the same team. I'm gonna have real fun with the next few chapters. I know that there hasn't been much Amourshipping lately, but there will be, promise. Give me about 2 chapters.**

 **Now, before I go on sick leave (yes, I was ill this weekend), a big shoutout to all of my amazing readers and reviewers. You guys are awesome. See you all next Sunday!**

 **Review and keep smiling,**

 **Leaflame.**


	12. An Island

**Hey guys! I know, I know, I'm a day late! I had an MUN conference yesterday, and I was too wiped to update! So, here it is! Chapter 12, let's go!**

Chapter 12: An Island

The baton bumped Ash's ribbon as Serena raced through a small forest, weaving through roots, vines, trees and branches. It was a miracle that she hadn't lost her balance yet. Light about 30 feet away from her signalled the end of the forest. "Faster, Braixen!" she breathed. Her loyal fire-type picked up its pace, and they both ran, faster and faster, and with a long step, they cleared the forest.

And stopped dead. They were standing at the beginning of a large cliff that jutted out over a small marsh, which led to a beach, and then water until they hit Cinnabar. But the cliff's most unusual, and dangerous feature was a huge rent down the middle, splitting the cliff into two until two feet away from Serena's feet. She immediately looked around, and spotted something. She realized that the marsh wasn't directly below her, but a little far out. There was a large rock bank, she realized, and this cliff stuck out over a ravine. Then, just opposite, there was another cliff, protruding out of the other side of the ravine. Just where both cliffs reached their maximum height, there was a space one may cross with a single jump. But it was a gamble. Even with Braixen's power. She looked for another way, and saw a path leading down, but it was really far out, and would cost a good deal of time. Time she had, but didn't want to waste.

She knew that the others were coming out behind her, seeing the same sight as she was. Some had psychic and flying types, so they would make it across, but others were heading toward the path on the other side. Serena faced the cliff, looked at Braixen, back at the cliff. She had to do this. She was fast, but did not have as much stamina as many of the others, nor did she have the battling skill that almost all the other racers in this section had. If this succeeded, she would be far ahead, and it would give Misty time. She would jump, run the shorter distance along the other side of the bank until she hit the path, cutting across the other trainers, and make it down to the beach.

She felt Braixen tense. Starting on the wider side of the rent, she began to walk up to the top.

"She's taking a risk," Speakshow boomed. For some reason, he sounded startled.

Ash's every muscle was tense as he watched Serena begin her climb. He had guessed her plan: walk up to the top, and then jump. He was already taut with fear and tension, but there was something strange about it, something almost feral, that told him that this jump would matter the most. "You can do it, Serena," he breathed, clenching his fists. She was almost at the top now. He watched her carefully turn, and hold Braixen's waist, and mutter a command. The fire-type raised its wand and hurled a Fireblast into the ground, flinging them both up into the air. He grew tenser, and felt Gary, Iris, Cathy and Astrid tense next to him.

She flew over the gap… and tumbled down the other side. The entire audience exhaled, almost as if they had been holding their breaths. Ash flopped back into his seat, heaving a sigh of relief along with his friends, but he felt irrationally happy that she had made it. Immediately, Speakshow started a jubilant speech, but Ash didn't hear him.

Serena felt the air gust out of her as she tumbled down the other side, along with a mad rush of relief that she had made it across. "We did it, Braixen!" she squealed, hugging her equally jubilant fire-type. She could hear Speakshow yelling jubilantly, but she was too relieved to pay attention. Then, she stood up, suddenly aware of the ache in her left arm, and noticed that it was ridden with scratches and cuts, along with her left side. Her dress had ripped in a few places, and her left shoulder and waist hurt. She must have landed on her left. But they weren't severe injuries. Serena gritted her teeth and began to run, Braixen beside her. Not long now.

As soon as Serena re-entered the throng of trainers bolting down the path, May was running beside her.

"That was so reckless!" she exclaimed. "Are you okay? You're hurt," she said, her gaze on Serena's left arm.

"I'm fine, May," Serena said, and the duo kept running.

Finally, they hit the marshes. They were very narrow, but Serena still winced as she and Braixen, along with May and Glacen, walked carefully through, on the lookout for treacherous bogs, until she felt sand under her mud-soaked boots. She, May and their Pokemon heaved a collective sigh of relief.

"I'm going to eat all of the Pokemon Centre's food supply after this," May muttered.

"I'm going to take a hot bath," Serena replied.

The Pokemon looked like they couldn't agree more.

Serena looked across the small stretch of water, and Cinnabar visible, a mountain of green, white and tan from her viewpoint. But how to get across? She couldn't swim the distance. But what if she employed the same trick as she did with the cliff. Flinging herself as far out as possible, and then swimming the rest. It looked like the only way, with no boats across. May, on the other hand, had Glaceon freeze a path on the water, and half-walked, half-skidded across it.

"We can't fall behind, Braixen!" she breathed.

Clasping Braixen's waist, she felt the same jerk as she was flung out and forwards. For one second, she was flying, and suddenly a mouthful of salty water. She surfaced, thrashing, and looked for Braixen. The fire-type was bobbing next to her. Through slightly stinging eyes, she placed her hat, now soaked, back on her head, and looked ahead, and heaved a sigh of relief. It was the distance of a large swimming pool, and she could see Misty's orange head on the banks, her hand outstretched. Suddenly, a spray of water went past her as Ursula surged ahead, going for Dawn. She and Braixen looked at one another, nodded, and struck out, swimming as hard and fast as they could. Speakshow was saying something, but her steady swimming and the voices of other trainers drowned him out. Finally, she felt sand under her, scrambled up, ran across the beach, where Misty was standing at the very edge of the checkpoint, grinning broadly.

Serena pulled the baton up and over her head and passed it to Misty, and then Nurse Joy took the tired duo away. It was all on Misty now.

 **Author's Note: Well, well! Welcome back to a regrettably late story, but with a surprisingly reckless Serena! Next chapter will obviously be the end of the race, but I can promise some honest-to-goodness Amour soon! Speaking of, there have been considerably fewer words from you guys lately, just sayin'.**

 **Now, before I vanish until my next timely update, the usual thanks to all my awesome supporters, you guys rock. See you all on Sunday!**

 **Review and keep smiling,**

 **Leaflame.**


	13. Note

**Guys, I'm so sorry, I can't update today. My dog is ill, and I need to look after her. I'm really sorry, but I will update tomorrow. See you guys then.**


	14. A Wave

**Hey guys! Now, before you kill me, let me tell you: THIS CHAPTER WILL BE SHORTER THAN USUAL. Why? Because I've been busy and not too well past week, but I promise that whatever I write will be good. Promise. Now, shall we?**

Chapter 13: A Wave

Misty grabbed the baton from Serena, who was carted away from Nurse Joy almost at once. She had chosen Corsola for the last part of the race, as the coral Pokemon worked both on water and on land.

Speakshow's voice boomed out.

"Trainers, your signal to swim will come in the next three minutes, and once you reach the shore, your arrow will appear in one minute! Get ready!"

Misty and Corsola took their time, and surveyed who were there. To her delight, she saw a good selection. Mary, Dawn, Brock as well. This was going to be fun.

Then, she heard the gong sound. "On your mark!"

The trainers tensed.

"Get set!"

Misty knelt, and grabbed Corsola tightly. They stepped into the water, and prepared to jump.

"Go!"

Misty and Corsola leapt into the water, and Misty, while underwater, saw many others plunge in. She surfaced, gasping, gripping Corsola's spines. "Let's go!"

Corsola tore through the water, soaking Misty in its wake. But she didn't care. After Ash had left her so long ago, she had led the Cerulean gym, and had practically lived in the water. Rescuing Gyarados had sure been something else. She remembered Gary's terrified face when he had nearly broken down her door to check if she were alright.

She kicked, working to give Corsola any speed she could, and she felt them move faster.

Mary was working hard as well, thrusting along with Espeon. The Psychic type was using, well, Psychic, to make the duo zoom through the water. Brock was working with Marshtomp, which was using Protect, and surfing on it along with Brock.

Dawn was the most impressive. She and Piplup had created a whirlpool of water, and were riding on it. Piplup's Whirlpool shone blue, silver and white. It was a true testament to Dawns' coordinating skills.

Speakshow's voice rang out. "And it looks like Dawn, Misty and Mary are dominating the water race!"

Misty turned her head and saw Mary gaining on her. With a jolt, she realized that the latter's hood had come off, revealing long hair and startling blue eyes. Where had she seen those eyes before?

Lucas was sitting bolt upright in his seat, ghastly white, his eyes fixed on the girl in the water whose eyes were mirror images of his own. Kat, following his gaze, felt her mouth open as her gaze landed on Mary.

Not Mary.

Meera.

"It can't be," Lucas whispered at last, his voice hoarse. " _I saw her die._ But she's here… How?" he whispered. Kat looked at his eyes and didn't see the calm boy she once knew. His eyes were locked on Meera, and she saw desperate hope burning in his gaze. Meera was here, even though Fiona herself had said that she was gone.

But here she was.

Lucas made a low keening sound in his throat. "Fiona said she was gone," he hissed, echoing Kat's earlier thoughts.

"But she's here," he continued shakily.

"Are you sure it's Meera and not a girl who looks just like her?" Kat asked.

"No,' Lucas replied quietly, but the look in his eyes fascinated Kat. "I'd recognize her anywhere. Oh, Meera," he said, looking longingly at the screen. Kat had to look away from the expression on his face.

Fiona looked at the competition, her usual braid flopping between her shoulder blades. So young Meera had returned. It had been necessary to lie to Lucas, telling them that his little sister had died, so that he would join them. He had been so reluctant otherwise. She remembered that boy of a few years ago, saying numbly that he would join them as his little sister was gone. His feelings didn't matter. They were unimportant in the face of their grand plan.

Surprise would be necessary, so as to throw him off, but not too much. She needn't sound overenthusiastic either. After all, she was his boss.

Misty strained, kicking hard and breathing encouragement to Corsola, who in response swam faster. She could see a little more distance between the two of them and Mary and company, but she couldn't relax now.

Suddenly, she felt Corsola slow down, and felt sand under her water-soaked body. Scrabbling for a grip on the loose sand, she half-climbed half-walked onto the shore. "You can do it, Corsola!" she breathed. She took a deep breath, and saw a few LC staff standing to the side, holding towels and water bottles, and some Super Potion.

She walked over to them, and using a soft, fluffy towel, she rubbed herself down, heaving a sigh at the feel of the soft towel on herself. Corsola had a few scrapes and scratches on, so she quickly treated them with Super Potion and downed a bottle of water.

With a ping, the blue arrow appeared.

She saw Dawn, Mary and Brock emerge, and threw them a challenging smile, which all of them returned. She then turned and ran straight into the forest. Her team was going to win. For sure.

 **Author's Note: Welcome back, and sorry for the late upload! So, Lucas finally gets the truth on Meera, and we see Fiona's crueller side. Part 2 of the race will happen next chapter, so stay tuned!**

 **Now, before I vanish until Sunday, as usual, a huge thanks to all the amazing people who supported me so far. You guys mean a lot. Please review because now we're entering the more critical part of the story, and I would like to know what you guys think of it, so please leave a few words! With that said, see you all next Sunday!**

 **Review and keep smiling,**

 **Leaflame.**


	15. A Finish

**Hello! I'm back, and my head is full of science and math! Exams are rolling around, and I've been doing nothing but study, study, study! But writing helps, it really does. Oh, and guys, another thing. From now on, until around the same time next month, I'll be updating on Monday. I need to be spacing out my writing time, so that I can still update rather than completely bunking, like last time I had exams. So Chapter 15 will air on Monday. But let's stay in the present. Onto Chapter 14!**

Chapter 14: A Finish

Kat, Sienna, Mike and David were all watching the race, and watching intently, nearly falling off their seats in attention. Now, there were a few outstanding trainers who were steadily at the top of the competition. Ash, Serena, Clemont, Dawn, Cathy, Astrid, Gary, May, Brock, Misty… there were a decent amount. Exactly why they had used the LC as the linchpin to their plan. They would find what they needed here.

They had a second source as well. They couldn't be in the audience all day. But there was someone… someone who watched every battle, every day, knew everything about these trainers. It had been a good idea, roping him in.

Kat was worried about Lucas. Ever since Meera's hood had come off in the water race, he had been staring at the screen, oblivious to anything and everything else. Poor Lucas. But then, they had all lost something important.

Kat still remembered losing Flareon. She had raised it since it was an egg, and she had become so strong… but then, some goons had taken her best friend away. And then Fiona had come, and had offered her a job, and in return she would get Flareon back.

Mike and David had lost someone as well. They had been triplets, and they had lost their third sister. Fiona had promised to help them if they worked for her. They had all agreed. Then Lucas had arrived, and they warmed to him at once. They had all lost something, and they would give their all to get it back.

Sienna had lost her best friend, a Rapidash. They used to race, but one day, Sienna woke up and found her best friend to be gone. She thought that it had run away, and Fiona had confirmed it.

But now, Meera had reappeared, and Kat was very happy for Lucas, but a small part of her was now flickering with suspicion. Fiona had been so clear that Meera was really, truly dead. Maybe she hadn't known that Meera was alive. But Meera, according to what the talk of the competition was, happened to be a famous Pokemon Coordinator hailing from Sinnoh. Fiona said that she had been keeping an eye on any good trainer from any region. How could she have overlooked Meera?

Did she…? No. She couldn't be that cruel.

Misty raced through the forest. The arrow had led them into a large, deep forest that had huge leaves. They blocked out most of the light, and it felt like late dusk. The orange-haired gym leader was having a tough time seeing, and had to strain her eyes to the limit to spot things that she might trip over. She could hear footsteps all around her. It was maddening. Then, she heard them.

Her worst fear.

Bug types. Chattering all around her. She could discern a Caterpie, an Ariados, a Spinarak, and a Weedle.

She broke into a cold sweat. Every instinct told her to drop everything and run away from the forest, but she gritted her teeth and kept running.

"Corsola?"

Misty jerked her head down. Corsola was looking at her anxiously.

Of course. Corsola was with her. "Not long now," she muttered.

Then, the whole area suddenly lightened. The forest cleared. She could see light ahead. With a cry of "Come on!" she tore through the forest, and suddenly she was at a riverbank. It had a strong current. With a ping, another blue arrow appeared. It pointed straight along the river. They had to swim along the course of the river until the next arrow appeared.

"Ready?" she asked, looking down at Corsola. The pink coral nodded.

Misty took a deep breath and dived into the river. The current was strong, but she had to swim with it. Then she looked ahead, and realized that there were many large rocks poking out of the water. They would have to swim around them.

Misty struck out, swimming steadily along with the current, holding onto Corsola and kicking out herself, just like in the lake.

She noticed Mary and Espeon next to her, not using any tricks this time. Then she heard a scream.

Dawn had been trapped, and badly. The current had slammed her against a rock, one that they had just dodged. She was pressed against it, unable to break free. Misty ducked her head underwater, and realized that Dawn's leg was trapped in a cleft in the rock. She and Mary looked at one another, before turning around and swimming against the current towards Dawn.

"You go for her leg! I'll try and help her up here!"

"I'll loosen her leg! Pull when I tell you to!" Misty replied and dived underwater, Corsola with her. She took a good look at Dawn's leg. It was bent, with her knee trapped and her foot sticking out. It was pretty badly stuck. She gestured at Corsola and pointed at the bluenette's foot, and pretended to pull.

Corsola swam up to her foot and grabbed the bluenette's foot. Misty went under and pressed her hands against Dawn's kneecap. She nodded at her partner.

Corsola pulled at Dawns' foot, while Misty pushed at her knee. After what seemed like an age, her leg finally slipped free. Misty's lungs were burning. With a final kick, her head broke the surface.

"Pull!" she gasped. Mary and Misty pulled hard to one side, and Dawn was free.

"Thank you!" she said gratefully.

"Let's go! We don't want to fall behind!" Mary said.

The three struck out, swimming faster than ever.

"What a rescue! That takes strength and guts! Will these three make it to the finish line in time?" Speakshow wondered.

 _We will!_ Misty thought as she swam even harder. She looked ahead, and saw that she was around tenth or eleventh in the pack.

A good position, but not good enough.

Suddenly, she felt the current weaken. The water widened out into a lake. Of course. This river must've fed the lake that was so close to Pallet Town. There was a ping, and a blue arrow pointed toward Pallet Town.

She scrambled out of the water, shook herself off, and began to run, as fast as her legs could carry her. Corsola ran steadily along with her. Misty strained, determined for a place in the top six. She could feel Mary and Dawn next to her. She crested the hill, and streaked down, running. No looking back.

She raced across the line, and fell flat on her face. Serena and Astrid were shouting their congrats, hugging Misty tightly. She finally looked up.

Fourth place. Everyone had made it.

They were all moving to the next round.

 **Author's Note: I had loads of fun writing this chapter! I hope you had as much fun reading it!**

 **Now, let's break it down. We finally get some backstory on our five (what, you thought I had forgotten about them?) and they have all lost something important, and Fiona took them all in. We now know of a mysterious second source. Who is this person? You'll be surprised (hopefully).**

 **All of our heroes have made it to the second round, and we finally get some insight on the dark plot. Arguably one of the best chapters I have ever written. Review and tell me what you think of it!**

 **Aside from my bragging, here's the usual shoutout to all the awesome people who have supported me so far! You guys rock. Nothing new on that.**

 **See you guys on Monday!**

 **Review and keep smiling,**

 **Leaflame.**


	16. A Break

**Hiii! I'm back... well, a day later than usual, but still! Anyway, this chapter is a small break from all the action and adventure. Just like a filler. What will this filler contain? Read on and find out!**

Chapter 15: A Break

"Bonnie, wake up!" Clemont yelled, irritably shaking his sister awake.

"Five more minutes… Bunnelby," she mumbled, her small body flipping over.

"You've been saying that for the past three-quarters of an hour! Wake up," Clemont said with a devious smile, "or we finish pancakes without you," he drawled.

"PANCAKES! Where!" Bonnie screeched, sitting bolt upright, suddenly very much awake.

"We still have to make them, silly," Clemont said affectionately, ruffling his sister's hair. "Now get ready and come on down to eat!"

"Is she finally awake?" Ash asked as Clemont walked in.

"Yeah, after a while," Clemont said as he walked in.

"Finally! She was taking forever!" Serena commented as she came into the lobby of the Pokemon Centre, looking a little drowsy.

"We needed this break! Now I can finally do some shopping!" May said delightedly as she walked in.

Translation: shop to take her mind off of things and find a way to wake Eevee up.

"I'll come with you!" Dawn said brightly.

"How about some battle training?" Gary asked as Brock, the former.

"I'll join you!" Astrid said as she plonked down next to Ash.

"Count me in as well!" Cathy said.

"My, my! What sincere practise!" said a slightly sarcastic, saccharine voice that brought a scowl to Dawn's face.

"What are you doing here?" Dawn asked, through gritted teeth.

"No need to get so worked up, Dawn. I thought I'd just come and train with Ash and the others here," Ursula said, sitting down right next to Ash, who looked a little nonplussed.

"I'll come too!" Serena said. The idea of letting Ash and Ursula getting out of her range of view didn't sit well with her,

"All that can happen after breakfast!" Bonnie declared as she walked in herself.

"Good idea, Bonnie!" Ash said.

"I'll get going, then!" Clemont said.

"I'll assist you! A delicious blend created by plenty of cooks!" Cilan declared, as Brock got up to join them.

"I'm gonna put tons of berries in mine!" Iris declared.

"We'll just see who eats more," Misty said as she sat down next to Iris.

Soon, an absolutely delicious smell wafted through, and everyone present in the hall sighed and inhaled the delicious, sweet smell of pancakes cooking.

Their feet taking over, they all walked into the kitchen, eating the aroma along the way.

"This smells so good…" Bonnie said as she walked toward the kitchen.

"You bet!" Ash replied, practically floating toward the kitchen.

"Pancakes are ready!" Clemont announced.

The three had combined forces and made a veritable feast. Pancakes of all kinds covered the table, from berries to chocolate to syrup. Everyone had a thin line of drool escaping their mouths.

"Hey, Ursula, what's that on your pancake?" Ash asked, looking curiously at a dark pink jam that Ursula had put on her pancake.

"Oh, it a special jam I make with Pecha Berries and Oran Berries!" Ursula said, smiling coquettishly.

"Like to try some?" she asked.

Ash, food-minded as ever, nodded his assent.

"Say aaah!" Ursula said brightly, spearing a piece of pancake with her fork and putting it into Ash's mouth.

All the girls at the table were now glaring daggers at Ursula, and Dawn looked ready the murder the pinkette right then and there.

Serena felt a knot in her throat. Ursula had Ash wrapped around her finger. Maybe… they were meant to be. She shook the thought off. There was no time to brood like that.

Less than fifteen minutes later, everyone felt like highly contented bags of cement. Happy, stuffed, unable to eat another bite. Even Ursula was full. But even then, her recent flirtatious action hung in the air like a gun within arms' reach. Deadly, easy to trigger and shoot. But everyone, sensing the delicacy of the situation at hand, chose not to say anything.

"Right then! Let's start training!" Ash declared, oblivious as always.

A little while later, they were out on the training field. Everyone split into pairs of two, and Ursula snatched Ash up as her partner before anyone could say anything. Serena winced, but hid it before anyone could see it.

Training continued. Serena, Miette and Dawn worked on performance, while Cathy, Astrid, Misty, Iris, Ursula, Ash, Clemont, and Gary battled.

Ursula flirted with Ash incessantly throughout. It was starting to get on their nerves.

"All right then! Pancham, Stone Edge! Braixen, Sylveon, jump on the rocks and use Flamethrower and Swift!" Serena yelled.

Pancham jumped and released two Stone Edges from either side, which met in the middle. Braixen and Sylveon jumped from rock to rock before jumping up high together and spinning before releasing the attacks, which collided in a fiery, sparkly explosion.

"That's really nice!" Dawn called. "Try a jump!"

"Fairy Wind!" Serena shouted up to Sylveon. The fairy type landed gracefully before winding its feelers around Serena's arms and lifting them both up into the air with a graceful Fairy Wind. Serena felt adrenaline rush through as she flipped, and reached for the ground.

And fell.

She felt her hand skid forward and her body follow it in one sweep, and then she was lying on her stomach on the ground.

"Serena, are you all right?" Ash asked, beginning to move towards her.

"Ash, let's continue our battle!" Ursula called. For a second, he stopped.

Serena got up. "I'm fine," she said stiffly before turning around and running into the forest, hot tears burning at her eyes. Why was she so upset? She shouldn't be. But the rational part of her seemed to have gone to sleep. The emotional part of her ruled her now, and it told her to feel bad that for one second, Ash indeed had hesitated, had turned towards Ursula, had taken a few steps back. So she ran. Her wrist throbbed and her knee hurt, but she ran, until she reached a clearing with a small lake. The atmosphere was so peaceful that she automatically calmed down a bit. Her rationality returned.

"Okay," she breathed. Time to look at herself. Her knees were scraped; her wrist an angry red. Her wrist would have to wait, but her knees could be taken care of.

She knelt at the lakeside, cupped her palms, reached into the cool blue water and began to wash her knees, until she heard a voice behind her.

"Serena?"

She whipped around.

Right in front of her, concern in his eyes, was Ash.

 **Author's Note: And welcome back! So finally, finally, we are going to have some honest-to-goodness Amour. Remember when I said that Ursula would draw them closer together? This is what I meant.**

 **Anyway, today was a break for our heroes. I wanted this chapter and a bit of the next to be a bit of a break from all the action and plot. Just a light filler with a good dollop of Amour.**

 **Now, before I disappear into a school textbook, a big, fat thanks to all of the awesome people who hold me up. You guys are, well, pretty darn awesome. Thanks a lot!**

 **See you guys on Monday!**

 **Review and keep smiling,**

 **Leaflame.**


	17. A Memory

**I'm so sorry! I was ill last week, and pretty much too zonked out to even bother about writing. I know it sounds like an excuse, but please, it's not. I was really not too well, and I had to sleep. I won't forget again. Now, shall we begin Chapter 16?**

Chapter 16: A Memory

"Now look what you've gone and done!" Dawn said angrily as Serenas' running footsteps faded away into silence.

"She fell down and got a little too upset about it. What's the big deal?" Ursula asked irritably, tossing her pink ringlets.

"Of course it's a big deal!" snapped a voice. Ursula turned around in shock to find Ash glaring at her.

"What's bitten you?" she asked.

"Why did you stop me?" he demanded. "Serena was hurt!"

"She just fell down," Ursula said scornfully. "It wasn't even a bad injury!"

"She's my friend! And a twisted wrist and scraped knees need looking after," Ash said, his brown eyes blazing angrily.

"You had no right stopping him like that. Serena's probably really upset now. Empty vessels make a lotta noise," Astrid chimed in.

"Next time, don't even think about stopping me," Ash said through gritted teeth.

"I thought that you were worth something. You disappoint me, Ash," Ursula said, and turned around in a flare of puffy blue skirt and walked away.

Ash didn't quite understand why he was so angry. Serena was really strong, and he didn't have much to worry about. But it was like there was an angry thing sitting in his mind, and that thing had roared in fury when he couldn't go after Serena, but it was snoozing happily now that Ursula was gone. Suddenly, the creature woke up, and prodded him to do something.

He complied.

"I'm gonna go check on Serena. Just to check if she's okay," Ash said.

Why were all the girls smiling like they had won the league?"

"You should get going then," Gary said at last, and even he was grinning broadly.

Ash turned and ran into the forest.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Dawn jumped high into the air and cheered.

"It looks like Ashy-boy's growing up," Gary commented, and couldn't hide his grin.

"Ash!" Serena screeched, surprised. Not that it was an unpleasant one. "Are you all right? You fell pretty badly," Ash commented, his eyes landing on her skinned knees and injured wrist.

"I'm fine! Better than you, at least, being hit by Pikachu's Thunderbolt so much!" she said, and Ash smiled his typical heart-melting smile, and Serena felt her heartbeat speed up considerably. Why, why, why did he have to be so good-looking?

"I guess so!" His expression turned serious. "Why did you run away like that? I know what Ursula said was mean, and I told her off for it, and then I figured I should find you, so here I am!" Ash said, rubbing his nose a little shyly, his words tumbling out in a rush.

"You told Ursula off for me?" Serena said, looking genuinely surprised. Had Ash really told Ursula off for her? It seemed too good to be true.

"Hey, you're my friend. I gotta stand up for you," Ash told her, looking at her with large, guileless eyes.

"You really are an amazing person, you know," she said thoughtfully. Ash looked surprised, if not a little pleased.

"I'm sorry! That was weird!" she spluttered, and felt her eyes prickle. "I really messed up," she whispered miserably.

"That's not true! You just got hurt, and you got a little upset. Crying won't help with anything, you know," he said reassuringly, and a little hurriedly, seeing Serena's tear-bright eyes. "I've cried once or twice myself," he said suddenly.

Serena looked genuinely surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah. I nearly lost Pikachu once, and I cried then," Ash confessed. The topic was a delicate one, one that brought a flood of unpleasant memories back. But, somehow, he felt lighter talking about it to Serena.

"You nearly lost Pikachu?" she asked, shocked at the idea.

"Yeah. When I was travelling with Dawn and Brock in Sinnoh at the time. We met a trainer with a Raichu, and it beat Pikachu up really badly. We took it to the Pokemon Centre, and its heart failed. Scariest moment of my life," he finished, shivering a little.

"Piika," Pikachu said, batting at his face. He grinned.

"So what happened after that? Did you win the battle?" Serena asked.

"Nurse Joy fixed it, and Pikachu snuck away at night to train. We found it there, and the next day, we battled that trainer again and beat him!" Ash said, smiling at the memory.

"You and Pikachu really are a team," Serena said, smiling.

"We sure are," Ash said.

Serena found her arms reaching out and wrapping around Ash's waist, hugging him a little. Her face probably beat a Tomatoberry in redness, but it was enjoyable all the same. He was hard with muscle and smelled of forest and sweat.

Ash felt strange. A girl had kissed him once, but this was much better. He wrapped his arms around her back. To his surprise, he felt hard muscle under his arms. She smelled of vanilla and burned sugar. His face felt strangely hot.

She pulled back, her face red. Did she have a fever?

"Are you all right? You look like you have a fever," he said.

To his surprise, she burst out laughing. "Uh.." he said, as he watched tears roll down her cheeks.

"Thanks for making me feel better," she said at last.

"Hey, no problem! Let's get back to the Centre and get those knees treated," Ash said.

The two turned and walked towards the Pokemon Centre.

"Is it ready?" a voice asked, and Fiona turned.

"Almost. Kalos will be ours soon enough," she said, a small smile tugging at her mouth.

"They will all see what will happen in the days to come. Let Kalos enjoy her last breath of freedom," she murmured.

 **Author's Note: Welcome back! So, we finally got some honest-to-goodness Amour (hope you guys saw it that way. Ignore my bragging). Finally, we see Fiona's objective: to take over Kalos. Ursula is not fully done, though. She still has a role to play. The whole chapter was pretty self-explanatory, and I'll start pairing up from next chapter. By the way, guys, it's my birthday next week on Thursday. Thought I should let you know. Just a fun fact.**

 **So, now before I go, the usual but always special shoutout to all of the awesome people who have supported me so far. You guys are amazing.**

 **With that said, see you all on Sunday!**

 **Review and keep smiling,**

 **Leaflame.**


	18. A Fear

**Hiii! I'm back, on Monday, as usual. Please forgive my typo last week. Updates will be only on Monday. The last round of the LC will start from here!**

Chapter 17: A Fear

"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome back to the regrettably, last round of the LC!" Speakshow yelled.

The audience cheered loudly, and the eighteen trainers standing in the middle of the field clapped and whooped.

"Now, for the cream of the LC's crop, we have arranged something very special," Speakshow said, lowering his voice for effect.

"I wonder what it could be," Clemont muttered, staring thoughtfully at Speakshow.

The latter continued.

"So far, we have tested our competitors on battling skill, ability to survive, physical and mental strength, and other vast parameters. This last round will test them on something very different. This round will test them on something else: their ability to react even in their worst-case scenarios. These can be anything from their deepest fears to their worst memories. This round will be in a battle format, but anytime within the battle, just for a few seconds, the trainer will see anything of what I mentioned before. The nine to come out of it will battle in groups of 3, and the one to come out on top will be the winner of the LC!" he declared.

"Whoa," Ash murmured. "That's tough,".

"It's an ingenious idea," Brock commented. "It'll bring out the best in every trainer, but what a cost!"

"This isn't going to be easy," May muttered.

Before any other reactions could be made, Speakshow called for matchups.

The eighteen looked up.

Lucas vs Clemont

May vs Brock

Serena vs Ursula

Misty vs Iris

Bianca vs Dawn

Cilan vs Cathy

Gary vs Astrid

Ash vs Meera

Dean vs James

Serena looked up and ground her teeth. Ursula. The two rivals glared at one another before nodding their assent.

Lucas and Clemont exchanged much friendlier glances, while Dawn's and Bianca's were those of interest. Misty and Iris exchanged challenging looks, while Ash and Meera shook hands. Dean and James clasped forearms, while Gary and Astrid flashed smiles at each other. May and Brock high-fives, while Cilan and Cathy seemed to be sizing each other up.

Clemont was walking towards the battlefield when Nurse Joy handed him a small bottle of liquid to drink.

"This is what will show you the memory or the fear," she explained as he gulped down the bitter-tasting liquid.

Naturally, she looked a little disapproving of the whole idea, being a Nurse Joy, but there was something else in her face that unsettled Clemont. He shook it off. He had a battle to fight. After a quick piece of thanks, he walked out onto the battlefield.

"The two on two Pokemon battle between Lucas and Clemont is about to begin! Trainers, please present your Pokemon!" the referee called.

"Bunnelby, let's go!" Clemont called, tossing a Pokeball high into the air.

"Azumarill, let's go!" Lucas yelled.

"Battle begin!" the ref yelled.

"We'll start! Bunnelby, Mudshot!" Clemon yelled.

Bunnelby conjured four glowing balls of mud, and fired straight at Azumarill.

"Counter with Ice Beam!" Lucas yelled.

Azumarill fired an Ice Beam that froze the balls of mud, and they hit the ground and shattered.

"Now use Water Pulse!"

"Wild Charge! Power on through!"

The Wild Charge slashed through the Water Pulse and hit Azumarill right in the face. With a cry, the Pokemon was flung backwards.

"And Clemont lands a huge hit!" Speakshow yelped, and the audience cheered, while Kat, Sienna, David and Michael frowned worriedly.

Bunnelby stepped back and flinched. "Use Dig!" Clemont called.

"Not so fast! Aqua Jet!" Lucas called.

Azumarill, now surrounded in sheets of water, slammed into Bunnelby, who was thrown back with a burst of water.

"Bunnelby, are you all right?" Clemont asked anxiously as the little rabbit stood up.

"And Lucas retaliates with a well-aimed Aqua Jet! What speed!" Speakshow exclaimed.

"He's really fast," Ash commented, looking carefully from the audience.

Gary, sitting next to him, nodded, while Bonnie gazed at Clemont worriedly.

Meanwhile, on the field, Bunnelby struggled to its feet. "We won't let them get away with this! Double Slap!" Clemont called.

"Counter it with Iron Tail!" Lucas yelled.

"Bunnnnell… BY!"

"MAAA.. RILL!"

The two attacks collided with a flash of light.

And Clemont felt himself break out in a cold sweat at the scene unfolding in front of him.

"What's happened to Clemont?" Serena asked.

Clemont's blue eyes had clouded over, the light flickering out of them. His expression was one of horror, and fear.

"I think that's the serum taking effect," Brock said.

"I wonder what he's seeing," May commented.

It was as if there was a small screen being laid out over Clemont's vision, so he could still see the battlefield and Bunnelby and Lucas in front of him, albeit a little blurry, and the overlay was clear.

And the scenes that played out on the overlay was the stuff of Clemont's nightmares.

He saw a screaming Bonnie being taken away from him. He saw his Pokemon dying. He even saw Bonnie die, or being taken away in a million different ways. He was transfixed, and then he saw the field beyond. He saw Bunnelby's blurry but worried eyes staring at him, and he realized that Bunnelby was here. This was all just a vision. And just like that, it was gone.

"And it looks like Clemont has fought the serum off successfully!" Speakshow said. But again, there was something in his voice that unsettled Clemont.

"Let's wrap this up! Azumarill, Water Jet, and make it count!" Lucas yelled. Azumarill flashed forward.

"We're not falling for the same trick twice! Dodge!"

Bunnelby jumped high into the air, and Azumarill crashed into the ground.

"Water Pulse!"

And with a flash of light and a cry of pain, Bunnelby was out.

"What speed! And Lucas takes first win!" Speakshow called.

"Bunnelby is unable to battle! Lucas wins!" the referee called.

"You fought really well. Return," Clemont murmured, as he called Bunnelby back into its ball.

"That was really fast! I didn't see that Water Pulse coming!" he called.

"Thanks! You were really good too," Lucas replied, grinning.

"Now for my last Pokemon! Luxray!" Clemont called as he tossed his ball.

"RAAAY!" it roared as it materialized in a flash of light.

"And Clemont's second Pokemon is Luxray! My, what power!" Speakshow commented.

"Azumarill, use Iron Tail!" Lucas called.

"Thunder Fang!"

Luxray caught the Iron Tail, gave the water type a good shock, and threw it back.

"Now use Swift!"

Before Azumarill could pull itself together, it was knocked out by a quick Swift.

"And the score is evened with a powerful Swift! What will Lucas's second Pokemon be?"

"Zorua, let's go!" Lucas yelled.

His faithful partner emerged in a flash of blue light.

"And here is Lucas's partner! Zorua" Speakshow yelled, stirring up the audience.

"We'll go first! Shadow Ball!"

Zorua fired a neat Shadow Ball that hit its mark.

"Luxray, Swift!"

"Dodge it!"

Zorua dodged neatly, and the Swift hit the ground.

"What speed!" Speakshow commented.

"Now use Thunder Fang!" Clemont yelled.

Luxray lunged forward and hit Zorua hard with a strong Thunder Fang.

"And it's a Thunder Fang from Clemont!"

"Zorua, use-,"

And he saw it. He saw Meera die again, he heard the sickening crunch of bone. He saw her die in many other ways, her screams clear in his ears. He saw Zorua die, he saw his Pokemon disappear. The scenes unfolded until they faded away.

Clemont saw Lucas's eyes clear, and waited. He did nothing.

"Wild Charge!"

Luxray charged forward, covered in electricity, and slammed into Zorua with a huge explosion.

The dust cloud cleared to show Zorua lying unconscious on the field. The referee spoke.

"Zorua is unable to battle. The match goes to Clemont!"

 **Author's Note: Welcome back! So our first victor is Clemont, surprisingly enough. Why did Lucas lose? Because his vision was more potent than Clemonts'. Lucas saw his worst memory and his worst fears, which left him more rattled, while Clemont saw only the former. I will only be writing about 4 of the remaining 8 battles, and you guys are telling me which ones. Leave your requests in a review.**

 **Now with that said, a big shoutout to all of my amazing readers. Nothing beats you guys. With that said, see you all next Monday!**

 **Review and keep smiling,**

 **Leaflame.**


	19. A Performance

**Hey! So, according to the requests, I will be doing the four requested battles: Astrid vs Gary, Ash vs Meera, Serena vs Ursula and Misty vs Iris. I guess I won't be doing as many requests any more as very few of you answered. If you want other request-based chapters, pm me or tell me in a review. Here's to Chapter 18!**

Chapter 18: A Performance

"Now for our second battle!" Speakshow declared.

"From the left, it's Ursula! From the right, it's Serena!"

"Now for our field! Ladies and gentlemen… it's a water field!"

The audience roared the competitor's names with delight. But the tension between the two opponents was so thick that it could be cut with a knife.

"Go Serena!" Ash yelled, his fist punching the air as he saw her walk onto her post, her expression set. This was one competitor who was hellbent on winning.

"She can do this," Dawn murmured, staring at Serena. They all wanted Serena to win… more than anything.

The referee called for the Pokemon.

"Sylveon, let's go!" Serena called, tossing her fairy-type's Pokeball forth.

"Vaporeon, shine!" Ursula yelled.

With twin bursts of blue light, both Pokemon appeared on the battlefield.

"Now, battle begin!" the ref declared.

"We'll go first. Vaporeon, use Aqua Jet!" Ursula called.

Vaporeon surged forth, covered in swathes of blue water. The water made Vaporeon's coat sparkle, as it flickered in and out, turning invisible in the jet, and sparkling beautifully when it was visible. It slammed into Sylveon with a splash. The flying droplets of water caught the light, and shone like diamonds in the sunlight, refracting off of one another and creating a rainbow.

"What a beautiful Aqua Jet! Ursula's sparing no effort in showing off her skills as a Coordinator!" Speakshow exclaimed.

"So this is a performer's battle," Serena murmured, realizing Ursula's unspoken challenge. They were not only competing for a place in the semis, but to prove who was the better performer amongst them.

"Sylveon, let's show them what we can do! Use Swift, along the water!"

"Veon!" The Fairy-type let the Swift fly just above the water, so that the water was stirred up, and made the Swifts shine even brighter.

"You can't do _that!"_ Ursula said. "Vaporeon, use Hidden Power!" she called.

"Vapo!" The orb of energy crashed into the Swifts, making them explode onto the water.

"And Ursula cancels out the effects of that lovely Swift! How will Serena retaliate?" Speakshow wondered.

"She's really quick on the draw," Gary commented.

"I'm worried," Bonnie said fretfully, and Clemont squeezed her shoulder.

"Ursula had the advantage, the field being a water field, but Sylveon is far lighter and it has those appendages. This battle could go either way," Brock said.

 _What should I do? She counteracts any move I make! And Vaporeon's a water type!_ Serena thought, lines worrying at her forehead.

 _Wait a second!_

"Vaporeon's a water type… Of course!" Serena breathed as a lightbulb went off in her head.

"She's up to something," Dawn said, looking at Serena's thoughtful expression.

"Sylveon, Vaporeons' main advantage is the water, so let's just cut it off! Jump in!"

"Syl!"

Sylveon leapt into the water with a splash.

"Hmm… an interesting move from Serena. What could she be planning?" Speakshow wondered.

"Now… Sylveon, Fairy Wind, let's go!"

With a powerful cry, Sylveon released a Fairy Wind, which caught at the water, whipping it up into a shimmering frenzy, as the water whirled along with the wind, creating a huge, sparkling hurricane of wind and water, with Sylveon right at the center.

"Now, go for Vaporeon!"

The hurricane of wind and water slammed right into the water-type with a dazzling explosion, hurling it into the stadium wall. The whole arena glittered with the remnants of the Fairy Wind and the water, and Sylveon jumped out, its own fur shining with the remnants of the attack.

"What a move! Serena's clearly using the water as much as her opponent is!" Speakshow said, and the audience cheered Serena's name.

"That was beautiful!" May said, but there was pain in her gaze. Glaceon had fought on a field just like this one more than once. Dawn slung an arm around her.

"Vaporeon, be strong!" Ursula said fiercely, as the water-type struggled to its feet.

"Sylveon, let's wrap this up!" Serena said, her eyes blazing.

"I don't think so! Vaporeon, into the water, now!"

Vaporeon leapt into the water… and disappeared.

"Oh no!" Serena gasped, as she recalled what the Pokedex had quoted. Vaporeon turned invisible in water.

"Where's Vaporeon? Why did it disappear?" Bonnie asked, her eyes scanning the field.

"It's Vaporeons' special ability. As long as it's in water, it turns invisible," Clemont said.

"What will you do now, Serena?" Ash murmured, gazing thoughtfully at her.

"What would Ash do in a situation like this?" she murmured frantically. Where would it attack from next?

Suddenly, she remembered. Vaporeon may be invisible, but it didn't matter if it couldn't hit its target.

"Sylveon, into the water, then Double Team!"

Sylveon leapt into the water and multiplied, so that multiple Sylveon now littered the water.

"Vaporeon, use Shadow Ball!"

The Shadow Ball struck home, but Vaporeon, for a split second, was in sight.

"Sylveon, Swift!"

The spinning stars hit true, and Vaporeon was flung out of the water in a blast of gold and blue.

Serena held her breath.

"Vaporeon is unable to battle! Serena wins!" the referee called.

"She did it! Serena's so awesome!" Ash yelled. The creature in his chest came to life and roared its approval.

"She just lured Ursula out and finished it with one gorgeous move!" Clemont said delightedly, while all the girls hugged one another. However, Gary and Brock broke the good mood.

"This was only the first battle. Ursula's ace is yet to come," Brock said, and Gary nodded.

"And Serena finishes with a beautiful Swift. What strategy! I wonder what Ursula's last Pokemon will be?" Speakshow wondered.

"You fought well, Vaporeon. Return," Ursula said, and looked at Serena.

"Smart, but this battle is mine! Gabite, go!" Ursula called, tossing the Pokeball forth.

"Ursula's strongest Pokemon," Serena murmured, gazing at Gabite.

"Gabite, Double Team, in the water!"

"Sylveon, Fairy Wind!"

The Fairy Wind eliminated all the doubles, but Ursula wasn't deterred.

"Use Dragon Claw!"

Gabite jumped high out of the water, and landed on the other side, nailing Sylveon hard and hurling it into the wall with a blast of dust.

"That's some power," Ash murmured.

The dust cloud cleared, revealing Sylveon lying unconscious.

"Sylveon is unable to battle! Gabite wins!" the ref called.

"One down," Ursula said smugly.

"Sylveon, return. Take a nice, long rest," she murmured.

"What power! Now, with the field evened, what will Serena's next Pokemon be?"

"Braixen, you're up!"

"There's Braixen," Misty said.

"Gabite, Iron Tail!"

"Braixen, use Scratch!"

The attacks collided, and both Pokemon leapt back.

"A well-matched duo! This battle's really heating up!" Speakshow yelled.

"I don't think so! Gabite, Dragon Rage!"

Before Serena could open her mouth to call for a counter, she felt herself freeze, as her gaze clouded over.

 **Author's Note: I'm truly evil, leaving you on a cliffhanger like this. What will Serena do now? You'll come to know soon enough! This is basically the climax of Serena and Ursula's rivalry, which is why it's eating up this whole chapter and a little bit of the next. The remaining three battles come as promised, but if you guys have other requests, make 'em now, and I might change my mind.**

 **A big shoutout to Amourshiper35, Kevin the Amourshipper, and 1 guest for reviewing! Thanks a lot! And a big thank you to all the awesome people who have read on and keep supporting me. You guys mean a lot. Now, see you on Monday!**

 **Review and keep smiling,**

 **Leaflame.**


	20. A Rivalry

**Hey! So, will Serena win or not. Find out!**

Chapter 19: A Rivalry

Serena felt herself go stiff. A translucent overlay rolled over her eyes, and beyond it, the blazing blue glow of the Dragon Rage.

Images rolled over it, each darker than the last. The things she saw were her deepest, darkest fears, her worst nightmares. Screams echoed in her skull, pain, fury and sorrow playing out in the worst, most gruesome fashion, each cry weirdly in tandem with the images she was seeing. It was like a twisted version of a performance, with screams and cries for music and her fears for the actual performance.

She was frozen, cold, glassy-eyed. Her blood had turned to ice.

And, out of nowhere, laughing brown eyes pierced through. She held on, and then it made sense. This was just an illusion, nothing more. And the screaming died down. The battlefield came into focus.

Braixen was staring fearfully at the oncoming Dragon Rage, but Serena wasn't having any of it.

"Braixen, Fire Blast!"

The four-edged star of fire flew toward the oncoming attack and hurled Gabite back. It landed with a splash in the water.

"Don't be too sure of yourself! Gabite, Sand Storm!"

The Sand Storm whirled out, a muddy mix of sand and water, which rushed for Braixen.

"Use Flamethrower!"

"Braaaai… XEN!" the fire type yelled as it flipped its wand and sent a jet of fire toward the oncoming storm.

It hit, and the storm exploded in a blast of steam.

"Now use Shadow Ball!" Ursula yelled. Gabite created several dark balls and hurled them at Braixen. An explosion ringed the arena, the dust clearing to reveal Braixen struggling, barely able to stand.

"Braixen seems to be stumbling on its last legs! What will Serena do?"

"Come on, you've gotta beat her," Dawn breathed, staring anxiously at the field.

Braixen stumbled, and Ursula smirked.

"Braixen?"

Braixen looked up. Serena continued speaking.

"I lost the Master Class because I couldn't give the way Aria could. I've leaned on you since the start of my journey, and you never took anything from me. I owe you so much. Now, it's your turn. Take my strength, and don't give up till it's over!" Serena said, smiling.

The creature sitting in Ash's chest roared to life at that smile, on her mouth and in her eyes.

Braixen stood up, determination glowing in its eyes. Ursula opened her mouth to say something, but suddenly, her eyes clouded over.

Serena waited.

Nothing.

"Braixen, Fireblast!"

And with a blast of flames, the battle was Serena's.

"Serena, that was awesome!" May said, thumping Serena on her back.

"You were so cool!" Bonnie squealed.

"You really shined out there," Clemont said proudly.

"We'll just see," Gary said, grinning, staring at Astrid.

"Now, let's see if our next battles can beat our previous ones! From the right, Astrid! From the left, Gary!"

The two trainers stepped onto the battlefield, their gazes challenging.

The referee announced the rules, and called for the presentation of the Pokemon.

"Pyroar, you're up!"

"Electivire, go!"

"Battle… BEGIN!" the referee yelled.

"Pyroar, Fire Fang!"

The fire-type raced forward, its mouth blazing with fire.

"Electivire, Iron Tail!"

The electric type raised its tail, now glowing and hard, and let Pyroar bite into it, effectively cancelling the move.

"And Gary blocks Astrid with a skilful Iron Tail!"

"Now, Electivire, use Thunder!"

"Pyroar, bite it! Fire Fang, again!"

Pyroar bit into the electricity, almost eating it.

"What a block from Pyroar! This battle is really heating up!" Speakshow yelled.

"Flamethrower!"

"Protect!"

"All right then! Pyroar, Iron Tail!"

This time Pyroar struck true, nailing Electivire across the face.

"Come on! Electivire, Thunder Punch!"

Electivire lunged forward and hit Pyroar hard twice, both fists blazing with electricity, the final blow hurling Pyroar across the grass battlefield, where it lay, unconscious.

"Pyroar is unable to battle! Gary wins!"

"That's quite and electric-type," Clemont said, and Ash nodded, his gaze slightly wistful.

"Absol!" Astrid yelled, tossing out a red and white Pokeball. Her partner appeared in a flash of blue light, and roared. The Keystone around its neck gleamed.

"Now it's Electivire and Absol!" Speakshow yelled, while the audience cheered.

"Absol, Shadow Claw!" Astrid yelled, swiping a hand out.

Absol lunged, and raked its claw, shrouded in a dark matter, across Electivire's face.

"Electivire, Thun-," Gary stopped mid-sentence as his gaze clouded over. He froze, and a few seconds later, Astrid moved.

"Psycho Cut!" she yelled.

Suddenly, Gary shook his head, his eyes clearing. "Use Protect, Electivire!" he yelled.

The Psycho Cut was blocked in the nick of time, but Astrid wasn't having any of it.

"Dark Pulse!"

There was a loud blast, and Electivire fell. It did not get up.

"Electivire is unable to battle! Astrid wins!"

Gary smiled wryly, pulled Electivire back into its Pokeball and murmured words of thanks, while Astrid shouted encouragement to Absol.

Gary looked up and smiled. "Blastoise, let's go!"

His huge turtle emerged in a flash of light. It gave off power as effortlessly as breathing.

"Now it's Absol and Blastoise! What a battle!" Speakshow exclaimed, and the audience roared the opponent's names.

"I'm gonna win," Astrid said. "Absol, Dark Pulse!"

"Blastoise, Hydro Pump!" Gary called.

The two attacks collided with a bang. Both trainers moved simultaneously, Astrid touching her earring while Gary ripped the necklace off of his neck.

"Now, Mega Evolve!"

The Pokemon blazed with multicolored light, which cleared to reveal a Mega Blastoise and a Mega Absol.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WE HAVE TWO MEGA EVOLVED POKEMON ON THE FIELD!" Speakshow roared. The cheers and calls from the audience were deafening, but the trainers were oblivious to it.

Ash was staring in amazement at Gary's Blastoise. "Blastoise can Mega Evolve!" he breathed.

"Let's wrap this up! Blastoise, Skull Bash!"

"Absol, Mega Horn!"

The two collided midair before flying back, grinning along with their trainers.

"Now, Psycho Cut!"

"Cut right through! Skull Bash!"

Blastoise shot right through the Psycho Cut, headed straight for Absol. But Astrid was frozen, her eyes glazed.

But, almost as soon as her eyes clouded, they cleared, but there was a look in her eyes that wasn't there before.

"Absol, finish this! DARK PULSE!" she yelled, her voice having a slightly feral edge to it.

The attack struck true, and the winds created from the explosion buffeted those who were sitting at the very back of the arena.

The smoke cleared, revealing Blastoise lying unconscious.

"Blastoise is unable to battle! Astrid wins!" the ref yelled. The audience exploded into cheers, Speakshow exulted over the battle, the gang yelled till their throats were sore, and Astrid ran to hug Absol.

But, amongst all the cheers, no one noticed the tear slip out from under her lashes and wet Absol's fur.

 **Author's Note: Welcome back! What a battle, and, yes, I made Gary lose! But for a reason. What motivated that super-powerful Dark Pulse? All will be revealed in good time! This chapter mainly focused on important character's mindsets, and one reason why I made Astrid win is because she doesn't appear in the anime enough, but she's there long enough for me to gauge her personality, and there's a lot of room to play with due to her lack of appearances.**

 **Now, before I leave, the usual shoutout to Amourshiper35 and 1 guest for reviewing, along with my other readers! See you all on Monday!**

 **Review and keep smiling,**

 **Leaflame.**


	21. A Flight

**And here we are at officially the 20** **th** **chapter of this story! Another milestone is that we just hit 50 reviews, so thank you guys so much! Now, on to Chapter 20!**

Chapter 20: A Flight

* * *

"What a riveting set of matchups so far! Let's see if our third battle measures up! From the left, it's Meera! From the right, we have Ash!" Speakshow boomed, stirring the audience up.

Both trainers walked onto the field with their shoulders back and their heads held high. The audience erupted into cheers, as both of them were very popular in the tournament. Meera had taken to wearing her hood away from her face, which revealed striking blue eyes, a small, heart-shaped face, and strawberry blonde hair. Her look consisted of a green tank top, denim capris, and blue sneakers with a jacket tied around her waist.

"Meera, there's gonna be no holding back from me!" Ash yelled across the field.

"The same goes for me!" Meera retorted, returning Ash's smile.

The field, with a whir, rose up. It was, to everyone's surprise, an ordinary dirt field. But this didn't deter the two trainers standing across it, opposite to each other. "And we have the dirt field!" Speakshow announced.

The audience cheered again, and the referee began to announce the rules.

"This battle will be a 2 on 2 Pokemon battle. The battle will be over when all two of either trainer's Pokemon are unable to battle! Are we clear?"

The trainers nodded their assent.

"Present your Pokemon!"

"Talonflame, I choose you!"

"All right then, Swellow, come on out!"

Both flying-types burst out of their Pokeballs in flashes of blue light, and let out loud calls to the other

"Then let the battle… begin!"

"I'll go first. Talonflame, heat it up! Flamecharge!"

The flying type, now wreathed in fire charged for Swellow.

"Swellow, meet it head-on! Sky Attack!"

Swellow blazed with power and charged for the oncoming Flame Charge. The two met midaiar with a loud bang, before the force of the collision threw them apart. They both flipped over midair and stopped, wings beating, eyes flashing, now knowing the other's strength.

"What an opening! These two are giving it their all!" Speakshow yelled.

"We're just warming up! Talonflame, Steel Wing!" Ash called, his eyes blazing, his stance wide.

"Don't underestimate us! Swellow, Air Cutter!"

Swellow's wings glowed as it began to flap them, and a volley of spinning discs flew out.

"Cut right through!" Ash yelled.

"TALLONN… FLAAAME!" the flying type yelled as its wings blazed even brighter, as it slashed through the attack and caught a surprised Swellow by the stomach, and slammed it into the arena wall.

"And Talonflame simply rips through that Air Cutter and lands a devastating blow! How will Meera respond?" Speakshow wondered.

"You're strong, but we're gonna win! Swellow, Quick Attack!"

Swellow lunged forward with incredible speed and slammed into Talonflame, hurling it back to crash into the arena's wall.

"Their battling styles are very similar," Clemont said, gazing thoughtfully at the battlefield.

"What do you mean?" Dawn asked, looking puzzled.

"I think what he means to say is that Ash and Meera both have very similar ways of battling. They both believe in facing their opponent head-on, and they both use offence as an excellent defense," Brock said, while Clemont nodded his agreement.

"Ash will win," Serena said, her gaze riveted to the field where both trainers fought.

"Use Steel Wing!" Ash yelled.

"You use Steel Wing too!" Meera yelled.

After that, the attacking switched to wing-to-wing combat. The Pokemon flew in daring and beautiful arcs, loops, flips and dives, sometimes letting the tips of their beaks touch the ground before flying out. The trainers, understanding what their Pokemon needed, began to shout out combat advice.

"Fly parallel to the wall to get out of your turn, then hit it!" Meera yelled.

"Use the sun! Fly in front of it!" Ash yelled.

Swellow flew hard, grazing the wall before flipping up and hurling itself towards Talonflame, who flared its wings in front of the sun and lanced downward like a bolt of lightning, heading straight for Swellow.

They both met with another fierce clang of steel on steel before backing off, panting, thoroughly exhausted.

But Ash had had enough. He knew that Talonflame was running out of steam, and that he needed to finish the match, and fast.

"Talonflame, give this everything you've got! BRAVEBIRD!" Ash screamed, flinging his arms high into the air.

The flying type yelled, and hurled itself at Swellow, who didn't stand a chance in its exhausted state. In a flash of blue fire, the first match went to Ash.

By this point, Speakshow was whipping the audience into a frenzy.

"What combat! What a battle! This is one for the history books! I wonder what the last match will be!" he yelled.

"Now for my last Pokemon! Mawile, you're up!" Meera yelled, tossing her Pokeball.

The elegant fairy-type appeared in a flash of light, but Ash knew the danger that waited behind its pretty head.

"All right then! Mawile, use Rain Dance!"

Clouds gathered around the field, and it began to rain, and hard.

Talonflame began to flap, and frantically, as the rain was weighing down its wings.

"Burn it away! Flame Charge!"

Talonflame blazed orange, but it did little good, as the oncoming rain soaked it yet again.

"Now! Flash Cannon!"

Mawile opened its jaws and hurled white energy at Talonflame. With a blast, the exhausted flying type tumbled to the ground.

"Talonflame is unable to battle! Mawile wins!"

"Take a nice long rest, Talonflame. Thanks a lot," Ash murmured as he pulled Talonflame back into its Pokeball.

"All right then, Pikachu, you're up!" Ash yelled, extending his arm. Pikachu, with an energetic cry, leapt on top of Ash's arm and jumped onto the battlefield, cheeks sizzling. The real battle was going to begin here.

He knew it, and so did she. And so did the boy with the Zorua sitting in the audience, with tears of longing and pride slipping down his cheeks.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Welcome back! I figured that I should lengthen this chapter out, as this is our boy in the end. And I wanted to put in a lot of detail with Lucas and Meera, so I thought that I'd finish that and this battle in one. All four requested battles will be over by Chapter 23, Chapter 24 at the most. This was where I finally reveal a lot on Meera's personality, and a lot will come out next chapter.**

 **Now, before I leave, the usual shoutout to Amourshiper35, TheBlackSwordsman13 and 1 guest for reviewing, along with the rest of my awesome readers! I'll see you guys on Sunday!**

 **Review and keep smiling,**

 **Leaflame.**


	22. A Reunion

**Hello! I'm back, as usual, and good to go! So, today we're gonna finish this battle, and finally have Lucas meet Meera properly. Let's get started!**

Chapter 21: A Reunion

 _Before the battle:_

Meera could barely contain her excitement. This battle was gonna be one for the history books. She was sure of it.

Lucas would be watching. She didn't even want to think about the amount of pain she had put him through. Coming out of that icy prison, freezing and cold, her blood chilly in her veins. She didn't know for how long she had been trapped in there, slowly feeling the warmth leave her, all sense of feeling slipping away.

Then there had been the sound of shovels scraping away, and cries of "She's alive!". She hadn't been able to see clearly, her eyelashes were coated with frost. Thank Arceus that none of her Pokemon had been out with her.

That had been followed with heavy blanket after heavy blanket, warm drink after warm drink, and finally sleep, a necessity that she had been denied for, according to Nurse Joy, a week and a half. She had survived because the ice had fallen around her instead of over her, creating a sort of alcove that had let warmer air slip through. She had licked the ice in her frozen bottle to keep hydrated, and she had somehow managed to use her cold, numb hands to reach into her backpack and fish out whatever her fingers could grasp. She had wrapped all her Pokeballs in a spare blanket so that they would stay warm.

Afterwards, she had looked everywhere for him, but he had disappeared. So she had trained, and hard, pushing herself to the limit so that the next time he saw her, he wouldn't worry.

Then he had appeared at the LC, and he wasn't a gangly teen: he was a handsome young man, hard with muscle and steady in experience.

She would not let him down.

Nurse Joy stood there, waiting. She held out a bottle to Meera, and she gulped the bitter liquid down in three gulps. She had had a twinge of confusion, as her friends had told her that they had swallowed theirs in two, but she brushed it off and walked out onto the battlefield. This was gonna be fun.

 _Present_

"Let's get this party started! Mawile, Flash Cannon!"

"Pikachu, dodge and use Electro Ball!"

The attacks collided midair with a bang, but the Flash Cannon shot through and nailed Pikachu neatly, flinging it backwards.

"What a Flash Cannon! Meera really means business!"

"We're not backing down! Pikachu, Iron Tail!"

Pikachu whacked Mawile hard, before tossing it high into the air and then slapping it back down with another flash of its tail.

"And Ash retaliates with a dazzling Iron Tail!" Speakshow said.

"Don't be so sure of yourselves! Bite!"

Mawile raced to Pikachu, before whirling around and opening the jaws at the back of its head and giving Pikachu a hard bite, before picking it up in its jaws and whirling it around and around before hurling it into the stadium wall.

"Pikachu, can you still battle?" Ash asked.

"Piikka," Pikachu stuttered out, before standing up.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"

"Flash Cannon!"

The two collided with a huge explosion, shaking the walls of the arena. Both trainers knew that after that, their Pokemon would be out of steam, and fast.

As soon as the smoke cleared, Meera made her move.

"Use Bite! Full power!"

The attack hit home, and Mawile tossed Pikachu high into the air, so that it could catch it in its jaws.

Ash did nothing. He had an odd look in his eye.

"Why is he being so passive?" Clemont muttered, staring anxiously at Pikachu. Serena's brow was knitted.

Pikachu landed in Mawile's jaws, and they closed around it.

Ash's eyes flashed.

"THUNDERBOLT!" he roared, eyes blazing, stance wide. To Serena, he had never looked more handsome.

Yellow lightning blazed out of Mawile's jaws as the Thunderbolt not only shocked it but hurled it back to land with an ungainly thud, coupled with a huge explosion.

Mawile didn't stand a chance. The smoke cleared to show it lying unconscious.

The audience exploded with cheers, everybody roaring for the winner of the hard fought battle.

Then, Meera's eyes clouded over. Her knees buckled as she felt the stadium floor rise up to meet her. Screams echoed in her head. She could hear Lucas calling desperately for her. She wanted to go to him, but her body wouldn't let her.

Lucas was in no mood to leave Meera. It had been one and a half hours, but she hadn't woken up. He wasn't going to leave here until she did. He was going to find the person who had given her too much of the serum and make them wish that they'd never been born.

Suddenly, he felt a cool hand touch his face. He looked down to see Meera's half open eyes scanning his face. The tip of her thumb ran along his cheekbone, stroking his cheek.

"Sorry you had to see me like this," she said, quietly.

"Who are you kidding? I'm your brother," Lucas said, his voice shaking a little.

"You've been worse," he finished.

The tension was so thick one could cut it with a knife. Neither of them could take it. Not between twins.

Either he moved or she moved and suddenly they were a tangle of arms and legs and fingers and hands. Lucas braced one knee against the bed and leaned into his sister, who had her arms around his shoulders and back, squeezing hard.

He stroked her hair, reveling in the fact that he could stroke her hair again. She smelled faintly of flowers and freshly cut grass, along with a hint of cedar. She must've been training in the forest today.

"I thought you were dead," he whispered. She took his palm and pressed it against her throat, and he felt a steady pulse under his fingers. At long last, they were together again.

 **Author's Note: Touching? Maybe? Hopefully? Please say it was, I did try. So, we get a good sense of both of their personalities, and how much they care for each other.**

 **This chapter was pretty self explanatory, so, before I go, a big thank you to JoBhaer, TheBlackSwordsman13 and Amourshiper35 for reviewing, along with the others!**

 **See you all on Sunday!**

 **Review and keep smiling,**

 **Leaflame.**


	23. A Scare

**Hi there, everyone. I feel like a total jerk for not updating for 2 weeks straight, but here's the thing: I was pretty sick. I got tired at the drop of a hat, and the mere idea of writing a chapter was exhausting. The doctor put his foot down and told me to rest, so writing was pretty much out of the picture. Turns out that I was anaemic. Anyway, I'm better now, so… onto Chapter 22!**

Chapter 22: A Scare

"Now, for the very last of our semi-final battles! From my right, it's Iris! From my left, Misty!"

Both girls walked out from either sides of the field, eyes shining, chests puffed out. Neither was in any mood to lose.

With a low rumble, the field came up. It was a water field.

The referee announced the rules, and, with blazing eyes, both girls whipped a Pokeball out.

"Emolga, come on out!" Iris yelled, tossing a Pokeball out.

"Dewgong, you too!" Misty called, a Pokeball flying out of her open palm.

"All right then, battle begin!" the ref announced.

Speakshow wasted no time.

"It looks like Iris has the upper hand when it comes to type advantage, but we'll just have to see!" Speakshow declared, while Misty just smirked.

"That smile tells me that Misty has something up her sleeve," Ash said, looking carefully at Misty's face, while Brock nodded his agreement.

"All right, then! Emolga, use Hidden Power!"

Emolga's little body glowed as energy came together in its little paws and formed a ball, which it hurled at Dewgong.

"Use Ice Beam!"

Dewgong fired strong Ice Beam from its horn, which hit the Hidden Power midair. The attack froze and exploded into shards of shimmering ice midair.

"What a gorgeous collision! This looks exciting!" Speakshow said, awe in his voice.

"I never knew that they could coordinate!" Dawn said, looking surprised.

"I get the feeling that they didn't know either," Brock said, suppressing a wry smile.

Both girls were well into the match.

"Emolga, Discharge!"

"Dewgong, into the water!" Misty yelled.

Emolga glided uncertainly above the water, trying to spot the white seal and to keep a steady glide on too.

Suddenly, Misty called for an Ice Beam. The entire surface of the water field was covered with a thick, reflective coat of ice, almost white in colour.

"This is rather strange! How will Dewgong breathe under all that ice?" Speakshow wondered, voicing everyone's concerns.

Misty suddenly grinned. Everyone in the audience sat up straighter.

"Use Aurora Beam!" she yelled. A glowing beam of light pierced the icy surface, hitting Emolga hard.

"Of course!" Clemont exclaimed, his eyes shining.

"What did you figure out, Clemont?" Serena asked.

"She's using the water as a cover to attack unseen! She knew that Emolga, being small and quick, would dodge anything that it saw, so she simply hid Dewgong so that Emolga couldn't see where the attack was coming from! What a brilliant strategy!" Clemont squealed.

"Emolga can't dodge an attack it can't see, so hiding Dewgong was the best option! And the hole that the Aurora Beam created gives Dewgong room to breathe! That's so cool!" Ash exclaimed, staring with open admiration.

"Well, she is a gym leader," Serena said, surprising herself with the jealous bite in her voice.

"Emolga, are you all right?" Iris asked anxiously as the winded Pokemon landed on one of the floating platforms, looking a little worse for the wear.

"WHAT A STRATEGY! Using the ice as a cover to shoot hidden attacks, and to provide breathing room for Dewgong! Misty's really living up to her rep as the Cerulean Gym leader!" Speakshow yelled.

Iris gritted her teeth. This battle was getting out of hand, and fast. She stared pensively at the field, her brow knitted. Freezing the water had been an amazing idea, and Emolga, being dual electric and flying, would lose her flying if she got wet.

Wait.

Water.

Ice.

Electricity.

Frozen water was ice. Water conducted electricity. The gears in Iris's head began to turn.

Another Aurora Beam shot out, this time under Emoga's platform, upsetting it and tossing the latter into the water.

Iris smiled.

"USE DISCHARGE!" she screamed.

Emolga released a wave of energy into the water, shattering the ice apart. Dewgong, with a cry of pain, landed on one of the platforms, winded and gasping. The audience was screaming its approval, Speakshow exulting over Iris's strategy. The stadium was filled to bursting with sound, but it was nothing compared to the blood roaring through Misty's ears, or the screams and insults pounding through her head, or the scenes playing out with ghastly clarity before her verdigris eyes.

 _Shake it off._

 _You're broken._

 _No._

 _A weak gym leader…_

 _That's not true._

 _Lost the boy you loved to another._

 _I'm in love with someone else._

 _Oh, he'll never love you back._

 _Gary is not like that._

 _Shake it off._

With a violent shake of her head, Misty broke free, her head up, eyes clear.

"And it looks like Misty has shaken off the serum remarkably well!" Speakshow said.

Clemont, Gary and Brock tensed. That hadn't been the tone of someone who was complimenting another. That was the tone of a scientist as he watched a successful experiment. Clemont looked up to the small glass-walled room where Speakshow was watching, and saw that he was holding something.

The battle below was in full swing.

"Dewgong, use Headbutt!"

"Dodge that!"

Dewgong charged at Emolga, who jumped into the air at the last second, leaving Dewgong to crash with an ungainly thump on one of the floating platforms.

"Dewgong, Ice Beam!" Misty yelled.

Dewgong released a powerful Ice Beam that sent Emolga flying. Emolga retaliated with a strong Discharge.

The audience was whipping itself up into a frenzy, as attacks flew between the two hotheaded girls.

Suddenly Dewgong tensed.

"Dewgong? What's wrong?" Misty asked, looking concerned.

A low rumble began in Dewgong's throat.

"Is that what I think it is?" Brock said, delight in his voice.

It opened its mouth, and a sound that seemed to echo for miles around exploded out of it, ricocheting off of the stadium walls again and again. Emolga hissed and covered its ears, and Iris did the same.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it looks like Dewgong has just learned Echoing Voice!" Speakshow yelled.

The audience cheered their loudest yet, almost overpowering Dewgong's attack. Slowly, Dewgong's mouth closed.

Suddenly, Emolga saw something behind Misty, and its eyes widened with fear.

It seemed to shrink into itself. Just as Iris and Misty were both about to ask what had gone wrong, there was a flash of yellow light. Misty heard Dewgong cry out in pain.

The light cleared. Emolga was gone.

It had used Volt Switch, and hadn't even called anyone out to replace it.

 **Author's Note: I'm so, so, so, so, so sorry for not having updated in the past 2 weeks! But I was honestly feeling like crap. I know it sounds like and excuse, but its not. I genuinely enjoy writing. That's why I started in the first place. Why would I drop it willingly?**

 **Now, we can see something suspicious about Speakshow appear, but here's the biggest question: who was behind Misty? What scared Emolga into using Volt Switch? All will be revealed next Monday!**

 **Now, before I leave for just a week, a big, huge thanks to Rajiv A. Rajaram, kcg998, Amourshiper35 and 1 guest for reviewing! See you guys on Monday!**

 **Review and keep smiling,**

 **Leaflame.**


	24. A Takeover

**And hello again! I left you guys with quite a cliffhanger last time, didn't I? We'll see about that from here on out! Let's see with Chapter 23! That was not meant to rhyme.**

Chapter 23: A Kidnapping

Speakshow was the first to comment.

"It looks like Emolga has used Volt Switch! I wonder why!" Speakshow commented. Brock tensed. Was there _happiness_ in his voice?

Brock would never know, because suddenly, an explosion that most definitely did not come from the battle happening below rocked the auditorium, and Brock felt something sharp jab into his neck. A familia smell pervaded his nostrils, a smell familiar to every doctor. Anaesthesia rushed through his veins, and the world sank into darkness.

 _A little while ago, at about 11pm:_

Fiona was staring at the screen with absolute delight. The serum had produced excellent results, simply excellent. Manipulating these trainers was going to be a piece of cake.

Firstly, they were all in love with someone or the other, and those strong little darlings had ever so much to lose…

Her new world was inches away from reaching fruition. Seven years of hard work, of pain and sorrow, were going to come to fruition tomorrow. Then her new world would be born. It had been necessary to lie to those kids, but what were a few broken hearts and mangled futures in the face of her new world? In the face of her ultimate future, what was that. Sure, people would die a lot. The world would finally be rid of its greatest menace.

The world would finally be rid of all Pokemon. At long last, her dreams would come true.

Tomorrow would be the Pokemon's final dawn. After all, they were nothing but pure evil.

Ash woke with a start. Where was he? Where was Serena? The creature in his chest let out an almighty roar. He tried to move, but there was no ground under his feet. His arms were aching, his wrists raw and bloody. He was hanging from two chains strapped to the roof, no support for his feet. He looked around, and saw his other friends tied up in a similar fashion.

Strange, inexplicable rage flooded through him as he saw Serena, hanging by her wrists just opposite to him. He could see her wrists, raw and bloody just like his. Finally, he found his voice.

"Where are we? Why are we tied up like this?" he demanded, and the others, just having woken up, began to thrash just like him and demand answers.

Suddenly, the bonds on his wrists opened, and he fell with an ungainly thud to the ground. A voice rang around the room, a voice so cold that it sent shivers down his spine. "You are in the catacombs of the LC arena, my dears," he voice said.

The room was shaped like a semicircle, with arching walls meeting at a single point on top. There was a sort of platform, on which stood a woman who was the owner of that eerie voice.

She would have been beautiful if not for the pallor of her face, her hollow cheeks, the sneering curl of her lips and the madness flickering in her deep blue eyes. Her hair tumbled long and loose down her back. She wore black pants with a low-cut black jacket, the edges lined with what looked like white Pokemon fur, a white slip inside covering her cleavage, Serena observed.

"My name is Fiona," she continued, her voice sounding like silk over ice.

"And you will be the linchpins to my plans for this world," she said.

"What do you mean?" Gary demanded. Serena couldn't help but notice that one arm was wrapped tightly around Misty's waist.

"You will help me create my new world!" she yelled, her eyes blazing.

"What is that supposed to mean?" she demanded, her voice sounding loud and angry.

"For a long time," Fiona said, "this world has been riddled with imperfections. But it is still a world. A beautiful, clean world, a world that is slowly being destroyed by imperfections. So what do we do when there is an imperfection? We exterminate it. We wipe it out, we make sure it plagues our world no more." She continued speaking.

"This world bears the curse of Pokemon. Wild, feral, evil creatures that stop humanity from reaching its full potential, creatures that suck on this Earth's lifeblood and give nothing in return. They steal and kill us humans, who have not harmed them. We have lived with this threat for too long!" she declared.

"But I," she said, her voice lowering to a whisper that was somehow even scarier than her previous declarations. "I will change that. I will rid the world of these imperfections. Pokemon were not meant to exist. I shall exterminate them all. I will summon all the legendary Pokemon and kill them, one by one. Let their blood cleanse the earth!"

"You're insane!" Ash yelled.

"Pokemon are our friends!" Dawn shouted.

Sienna, Mike, David and Lucas looked up at Fiona with horror.

"You lied to us! You said that you were helping this world!" Lucas yelled.

"Oh, I lied about plenty of things!" Fiona said easily. "Mike, David, your sister is alive and well. Sienna, your Rapidash is alive and well. What are a few lies in the face of my grand design!" she cackled.

"Oh, and my dear Kat! Your little Flareon is alive also. Matter of fact, all of them have been with me all this time. I hope you understand that my lies were necessary," she finished.

"You're out of your mind!" Lucas yelled. Kat, Sienna, David and Mike shouted the same things. They could all remember their sleepless nights, mourning their lost. It had all been a lie.

"You, my dear trainers, Ash, Serena, Clemont, May, Dawn, Astrid, Cathy, Meera, Lucas, Gary, Brock, Cilan, Iris, Mike, David, Sienna, Misty, Kat! You will be the hands of my grand design. You will help in exterminating the evildoers, and in return, I will let your Pokemon live," she said.

 **Author's Note: Finally, the climax! Or at least, the start of it! There are only 5 chapters left, so stick with me now! Our heroes are in quite the dilemma, aren't they? We'll see what happens… next chapter!**

 **Now, before I leave, a big, fat, thank you to all my readers, and a thank you to to Amourshiper35, Rajiv A. Rajaram and 1 guest for reviewing! See you guys on Monday!**

 **I'll be releasing a oneshot sometime this week, so look forward to it!**

 **Review and keep smiling,**

 **Leaflame**


	25. A Serum

**Hi there! So, now that we've hit the official climax of the 1** **st** **book of the Evoverse, I'm gonna be having fun with my writing! So, we left off at our heroes held captive under Fiona's whims. We'll see what happens in Chapter 24!**

Chapter 24: A Serum

The words that Fiona spoke sent a shockwave down Ash's spine. She was really, truly insane. He opened his mouth to say something, but she continued speaking.

"Or," she said, and the single word raised the hairs on the back of Ash's neck.

"Or, why do I even need your puny little will? I could still use a few strong Pokemon to help me kill the others. But, since they will heed no one's words but yours, I need you! After all, as they say, keep your friends close and your enemies closer!" she howled, and laughed again. Her blue eyes were fractured.

"Just so you know, what she's saying is currently being broadcast to the entire world," a jarringly familiar voice drawled. Speakshow stepped out of the shadows. Unlike Fiona, he didn't look mad in the least. He looked hungry for power. Power that sat in the woman next to him.

"I knew it!" Brock hissed, while Gary and Clemont exhaled sharply. Now all of Speakshow's honeyed words and strange tones of voice made perfect sense. He had been in league with Fiona all along.

"YOU!" Lucas gasped, staring in absolute horror at Speakshow. "You were with her all along!" Meera gasped, her hand firmly held by her twin's.

"Where there's power, there's victory, my dears. You should know that, being trainers of those infernal beings," Speakshow said.

"They're not infernal beings! They're our friends! They have as much of a right to live here as we do!" Ash yelled, his eyes blazing.

"What you say doesn't matter. You cannot defeat me. It is impossible!" Fiona said, her voice low and cold.

Suddenly, Clemont paled.

"The explosion!" he whispered.

Fiona's mouth began to curve into a smile.

"Ah, the blonde is smart. I could've just hit you in your necks, but you see, the little grenade I threw in the stadium contained a gas that would affect the drinkers of the serum. You see, if I spray another gas here, right now, your bodies will react, and you will see things that will force you to bend your will to mine. After that, you will do as I say, and if you dare disobey, it will be another round. Don't try to work your way around. The serum contains many drugs that induce hallucination. Legal drugs, mainly used for sedatives, but if mixed correctly, will have highly hallucinogenic properties. The only drug in it that is actually a drug is an extract of the Kineva plant. This clever little drug makes the user hallucinate, but the user is aware of the hallucination.

It was needed in trace amounts for you to be able to shake off your visions in the battle round," she finished.

By now, she looked really, truly insane. Every line if her face was contorted into a bruised, mangled version of a smile. Her eyes were wide, her pupils miniscule black dots. Her hands made clawlike gestures as she laughed, Speakshow applauding her.

Bonnie clung to Clemont, her eyes wide. Clemont wished for something, anything that would let her get out of here.

Almost as if the Fates wished to mock him, Fiona's crazed eyes landed on Bonnie.

"A little sister!" she said, giggling.

"Come here, little one," she drawled, and vines lashed around Bonnie and lifted her up to where Fiona stood, and the latter wrapped an arm around her. Bonnie began to cry.

"Let her go!" Clemont shouted, his voice raw.

"Only when I'm done!" she crowed.

"You're outta your mind!" Gary shouted.

"Impertinence! How dare you disrespect me!" Fiona yelled, her eyes blazing with icy fire. Her mood seemed to have shifted from euphoric to furious.

 _It was so long ago._

 _She still remembered the howls of Yveltal as it tore through the village, real, living, breathing people turning into lifeless stone statues, their faces frozen with fear, mouths open or closed, some even looking mildly surprised._

 _Everything was purple and gray. There was no life left. Even the brilliant stone staues had turned purple and gray. Gray stone turned grayer, all foliage turned purple, black, gray or stark white. She crouched behind a rock, hoping and praying that this embodiment of death wouldn't see her, wouldn't end her life with one purple death ray._

"Fiona?" Speakshow asked.

She turned to face him. "Yes?"

"Shoudn't we get started?" he asked, his eyes questioning.

"Oh!" she said.

Speakshow looked at her promptingly.

"Yes!" she said, shaking out her long, dark hair. "Now where was I?" she said with all the warmth and normalcy of someone discussing the weather over lunch, not someone who was about to kill off every Pokemon in existence.

The sheer weirdness of it made Serena want to laugh. But imagining Pokemon dead? It wiped the smile clean off her face.

 _Its eyes, crazed, turned towards her._

The stadium was in ruins. One of the walls was in shreds, decorating the rest of the stadium with shrapnel, wire and dust.

A huge crater was in the centre of the field, a smoking hole in the centre showing the bomb had fallen.

The Professors from Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos, Johto and Kanto stared in shock at the scenario, when a female voice spoke behind them.

"Excuse me,".

They turned to find Delia standing there, her eyes bright.

"They have taken my son captive, haven't they?" she whispered, her eyes unnaturally bright.

They could do nothing but nod.

"Oh, Fiona! What have you done?" she breathed, her face pale.

Ash stared at Fiona, his eyes wide. Killing off Pikachu and the others was horrible enough, but somehow, the fact that Serena was here terrified him to the point that it scared him.

Suddenly, Fiona smirked. A cannula shot up her nose, and she began to scream.

 **Author's Note: Things escalated fast now, didn't they! A warm welcome back, and a hopefully good climax! I tried to give a little of Fiona's history to you, and yes, Speakshow is a traitor. Come on, I dropped a zillion hints along the way. Now, then, I can't say much, except for the fact that there is a connection between Delia and Fiona.**

 **Now, a big, fat thank you to all of my brilliant readers, and another huge thanks to Amourshiper35, Rajiv A. Rajaram, YellowFlashCannon, Strawhat Quilava and 1 guest was reviewing! You have no idea how happy I was to get so many reviews! Thank you!**

 **Review and keep smiling,**

 **Leaflame.**


	26. A Manipulation

**Hello and welcome back! I've been so stoked for this part of the climax that I can hardly believe I'm writing it! Also, you guys, Chapter 26 will release next-to-next week, as next Monday is Christmas, and I'll be posting a Christmas story! Also, I decided that, since this is Christmas, I'll leave the ship to you! Please review and tell me which ships you want in this little oneshot I'll be posting for Christmas, and the top two shall be added. Now, let's focus on the present. Onto Chapter 25!**

Chapter 25: A Manipulation

Fiona screamed. And screamed and screamed and screamed. Then Ash realized that there was pain in her voice. Her wild howls of pain ripped through the air, fraying Ash's nerves and making Bonnie cry harder. Her cries ripped through the air, until the cannula slipped out of her nose, and her fits reduced to just whimpering as the cannula sank into the ground. She looked at the horrified faces of the trainers, and her expression changed. If she had seemed insane before, it was nothing like what she looked like now. She looked like an icy fury from hell, strangely and terrifyingly beautiful, with all its madness and cruelty. She clutched Bonnie closer, who screamed and kicked, but the woman wouldn't let go. Ash could practically feel Clemont shaking with rage.

Speakshow grinned. He was holding a console, on which there were many symbols. He had planned to betray Fiona and take control at the last second, when she was defenceless. He was no better than she was.

But he underestimated her. With almost inhuman strength, she ripped the cannula out of her nose, and suddenly there was a hiss of metal as she lunged at Speakshow. She stabbed him, running him through on her sabre. Blood spurted out everywhere, soaking her face, her dress, some raining down on the podium. Meera threw up. Lucas looked close himself. Serena felt the bile creep up her throat. Bonnie screamed.

That was the last straw for Clemont. He lunged forward, releasing his Aipom Arm, wrapped it around Bonnie and pulled her close, and then ran away from the podium as fast as he could.

Speakshow lay dead, stabbed, his last look of surprise etched on his face. Blood pooled around him. Bile rose in Gary's throat. Seeing their shocked faces, Fiona smiled.

"I had no need for him. There can only be one ruler in our new world, and he betrayed me! Let him be an example of what happens if he disobeys me!" she screeched. Suddenly, a smile curved her mouth. She picked up the console from Speakshow's hands and pressed a button.

Suddenly, Ash heard a cry. He looked up, and saw the mechanized vines reach out and slither sround Misty, lashing her limbs in place. Suddenly, and small cannula shot up out of the ground, and went clean up her nostril. Gary called for her was calling for her, but the same thing that had happened in the LC happened here. Her eyes clouded, her head lolled. Suddenly, she stiffened. Her eyes cleared, but they were… different. They were not Misty's eyes.

"Are you ready, subjugate?" Fiona asked.

Misty nodded woodenly. "Yes."

"Misty," Gary breathed.

Misty didn't know where she was. She was trapped, and she could see herself walking towards Fiona, agreeing to whatever that evil woman said. She immediately tried to protest, but it was of no use. Her body wouldn't listen. She had resisted, but then… she couldn't let her friends die. She had let it in.

All the same, one by one, the others were picked off, until only Clemont, Serena, Ash, Bonnie and Dawn were left.

Fiona smiled down at them.

"Want to join your friends?" she asked enticingly.

"Never!" Ash yelled, bristling.

"We'll never give in! Killing Pokemon is wrong!" Serena shouted angrily.

"Pokemon are a part of us!" Clemont declared.

"You can never destroy them!" Dawn yelled.

"Pokemon are our friends!" Bonnie said.

"Don't be so sure," she drawled, and the vines wrapped around Ash.

Cynthia watched what was happening in absolute horror. First murdering someone in cold blood, now this… victory seemed impossible. Yet, an idea was beginning to flutter in her mind. With a jolt, she realized that she knew this drug. She shouldn't have known about it, but she did. How was a different story. Death-gripping Garchomp's Pokeball with one hand, she whipped out her phone with the other.

Fifteen minutes later, all of the special guests of the LC gathered around, Champions, Professors and Elite Four alike.

"What do we do?" Diantha asked, her voice even but her eyes betrayed her worry.

They all launched into debate, Alder for once forgetting to flirt with the pretty ladies present there.

Until Professor Sycamore put his fist down with a bang on the table in the Pokemon Centre. The room quieted.

"Now, everyone, calm down," he said, his grey eyes flashing.

Everyone looked a little sheepish for having lost decorum and yelling, but paid attention.

"I know the drug that Fiona's using. It's an extremely rare mix that traps a person's consciousness, and makes them completely loyal to the first person they see. That's why those vines held those children up. So that they would see Fiona first. However, to do this, the person must be terrified, anf properly so. Hence, those serums in the semis," he concluded.

"I know of it too. However, this drug has one shortcoming. Its antidote is used to create the drug itself. Fiona must have it. If we can infiltrate the site, then we can get the antidote and free them. It'll be a big battle from there on out," Cynthia said darkly.

"To think that someone had the LC rigged all along," Flint murmured.

"Didn't you see? Cathy made it ahead even though she lost. They had it the whole time, under our very noses," Professor Juniper growled.

"Now isn't the time for arguing," Seabold said crisply. "A good cutlet requires timing. Let's go save those trainers, shall we?"

 **Author's Note: Welcome back! My, things took a far darker turn there, huh? This whole chapter was pretty self-explanatory, so I'm not going to go into details. Now do you know why that little gaffe with Cathy makes sense?**

 **Please don't forget to tell me your chosen ship! Now, before I go, the usual, but just as grateful, thank you to all my readers, and another big thanks to Amourshiper35, Rajiv A. Rajaram and 1 guest for reviewing! See you all on Monday!**

 **Review and keep smiling,**

 **Leaflame.**


	27. A Plan

**Hello, and a happy, happy New Year to all of you brilliant readers! Have a wonderful 2018! Ironic that the chapter that I've been wanting to write the most gets updated today. Why have I been waiting so much? You shall see! On with chapter 26!**

Chapter 26: A Plan

"Okay, so now we have that, but what about how to get in? She's taken over almost the entire stadium!" Alder said, shaking his head and his lionlike mane of orange hair.

"We'll dress up as guards," Cynthia said immediately, her brow wrinkling. Diantha nodded her agreement.

"Even so, it would be marvellous luck to not get caught on camera, and to figure out where the antidote is without being too late. We need to have a plan. There is a very good chance that she's mind-controlling her guards as well. She's also got almost all the semi-finalists on her side. The odds don't look good," Professor Sycamore commented.

"I've got that covered," Flint said, grinning.

The others looked at him questioningly.

Flint felt the pressing need to explain.

"Look, she's gotta be using the security cameras to keep an eye out. So if we get access to the observatory, I can get us the footage from there!" Flint explained.

"So our only problem is to find the observing area," Professor Sycamore said.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Caitlin said.

Professor Rowan stood up and bowed gallantly at the door. "Shall we?" he asked.

He was interrupted by a familiar voice. "You don't plan on rescuing my son without me, now do you?" Delia asked.

"All right, we're here," Caitlin said briskly, her Gothitelle standing next to her. Both, Delia observed, had that air of being both ghostly and beautiful at the same time.

"Wait," Delia said.

Everyone else turned and looked at her.

"Before we go in there, there is something I need to tell you about Fiona. It might help. I had sworn to carry this to my grave, but that isn't going to happen," Delia said.

"But how do you know more about Fiona then we do?" Diantha asked.

"Because I was her best friend," Delia replied, and plunged into her story.

She remembered that time when she had been a trainer. Meeting Fiona. She had been so bright and so lively, and they had battled day in, day out, hellbent on seeing who was stronger. That had been her. She had been, what, 16 at the time. They had travelled together for a year.

They had been so close. Thick as thieves, winning battle after battle together. They were far more than sisters. Not lovers, but a bond stronger than sisterhood. They had tearfully split up at the end of the year, when Fiona had been asked to come home.

Six months later, news on the TV appeared. News that sent shivers up Delia's spine, seeing pictures of Fiona's home town, ravaged, turned into stone. An entire town destroyed in a matter of seconds. What had scared her even more was the sheer sense of foreboding that had gripped her for a second, but it had felt like an hour.

Two months later, she met Fiona again, and the difference had shocked her. Externally, she had looked normal. Prettier, even. But the eyes. The eyes had scared her. Fractured. Broken. Her easy laughter now seemed forced. Her smile iced over. They were not the eyes of the sister she knew and loved.

Then, reports of Pokemon killings began. Their trainers had found their best friends murdered, stabbed. She had not suspected Fiona, until, one night, she heard a scream. She had followed the noise, praying that it hadn't been Fiona's Pokemon. She had seen a shadow slip away from the Centre, and she had followed it. And then she had seen Fiona washing the blood from her hands and knife.

Delia told all the region's best this.

"She has really, truly gone insane," Diantha said at last.

"We need to stop this," Flint said.

He lifted his fist, stalked over to the nearest guard, and nailed him on the head.

Serena felt the panic rise up her spine. Almost everyone who had stood here mere moments ago was now staring dully back at her. Their eyes looked normal, but it was a million other things that had told her that these people weren't her friends. The slouch of their shoulders. Their stances. The way that they held their heads. The dull look in Misty's eyes. The total indifference between Lucas and Meera, who normally had that air of being twins, was gone now. The worst was when they had spoken. The lack of emotion in their voices. Just an obedient "Yes," or a "No,". And now, the same thing was going to happen to Ash.

Serena knew by some strange instinct that if Ash was to be mind controlled, she would not, could not, fight him. She would rather get controlled herself.

The vines began to lift Ash up and off the ground, and she heard herself cry out. Suddenly, thin, strong ropes of cool metal wrap around her as well.

"Let Serena go!" Ash yelled. The thing in his chest roared.

"Why should I?" Fiona drawled. "I might as well knock both of you off first, now that there's only a handful of you left," she drawled.

Serena heard the hiss of the cannula as it slithered up. They were losing. Then an idea struck her. Her cheeks burned thinking about it, but she was desperate. And, besides, it was not like she didn't want it. And, hopefully it would shock him enough to at least dilute the effects of the serum.

She gauged their distance. They were more than close enough. It would not beat the serum, but it would buy them some time at the very least. It was insane. It was completely crazy, but she was not above it right now.

She heard Ash hiss and try to jerk away as the cannula slid up his neck. Now was the time.

"Ash!" she called.

He faced her, his eyes surprised. The cannula slid up his nostril.

Before she could change her mind, she leaned in and kissed him.

 **Author's Note: Phew! That was intense! Now do you know why I was itching to write this? So, a lot of stuff happened with this chapter. Delia's connection with Fiona. A proper, concrete rescue plan. Plus… well.**

 **Now, before I disappear again, a big, big, big thank you to all of my wonderful readers who supported me in 2017, and I hope to stick with you guys through 2018 as well, 'cause I love all of you.**

 **And, another thank you to Amourshiper35, YellowFlashCannon, TheBlackSwordsman13, Mega Espeon, Rajiv A. Rajaram and 1 guest for reviewing!**

 **Review and keep smiling,**

 **Leaflame.**


	28. A Kiss

**Aaand welcome back!! I've been waiting to write this chapter, and hopefully you've been hoping to read it! This chapter was very interesting to read.**

Chapter 27: A Kiss

Before Serena kissed him, Ash, had been unnaturally still. But now, he jerked to life. He gasped. His breath flew across her cheek, ruffling her hair lightly. She could vaguely hear Fiona cursing in the background, but strangely enough, she didn't care. The world been strangely muffled, as if someone had thrown an invisible blanket across it.

But that was nothing compared to the shock she had when he kissed her back. He smelled of green and sweat, and he almost _smiling._

She pulled away, and he was staring at her with wide eyes. Shocked eyes. But they were normal. Not the dull, emotionless eyes of the others who had been mind-controlled. His eyes were very _Ash_ , and currently they were staring at her with emotions that she was too scared to read.

"Serena?" he whispered.

Suddenly, there was an earsplitting cry.

Both of them jerked their heads around, and found Fiona staring at them, her eyes wild with rage.

"You little meinu!!" she screamed, her fragmented gaze trained on Serena. She drew her knife. The blade glinted with a sinister light in the dark red lighting of the room.

Flint proved to be a surprisingly good actor alongside Grace, who had taken Sycamore by the collar and had told him that she was accompanying them to save her daughter. There had been no question of refusing.

Flint was now speaking to a guard, mimicking his dull, emotionless voice. Fiona had spared no effort. Every single one of the guards had been mind-controlled, but with an EM wave instead of serum.

Grace stood beside him, her shoulders down. She was pretending to be a hostage, and Flint, correctly guessing that it was one of the most well-guarded rooms in the arena, had told the guard that he was holding her prisoner in the room that contained the surveillance cameras.

Grace was tied up, but Flint would cut her bonds before taking her inside and locking her in.

There was a walkie-talkie concealed among the thick ropes that pinned her arms to her sides. Grace would figure out where the antidote room was, call them, and they would go there, gather the antidote, and rescue the trainers.

Delia watched breathlessly as she saw the two figures walk down the corridor.

The irony of the whole plan buzzed around her head.

 _About 28 years ago:_ Fiona?"

Pale but flushed skin and smiling blue eyes met her gaze. But the smile in her eyes seemed forced. That fractured look that had lingered in her gaze after her home had been destroyed had gone. Or that was what Delia had hoped.

"Yes?" she asked, staring at her questioningly.

"You've been washing exactly four dishes for 15 minutes! Are you okayDelia said.

"Oh!" Fiona said, shaking herself off. The forced look vanished. "I'm fine," she said, but her tone was distant. Delia knew that she was hurting.

"Hey," she said quietly. She knelt at Fionas' feet.

"If you ever need help, I promise that I'll be there. I won't ruin anything of yours. Ever." she declared.

If only she knew how much she would regret her words.

 _Back to the present:_

Delia laughed at the absurdity of the situation. After that promise, who knew that she was going to destroy her best friends greatest plan yet? Fate had a funny sense of humour.

And now, the same woman who had murdered her best friend now held her son hostage.

"Delia? Are you all right?" You've gone very pale, Diantha said from behind her, concern apparent in her voice.

"No, it's nothing," she said, just as Flint came into view. He slipped into the storage area where they were hiding.

"What took you so long?" Cynthia demanded.

"The whole area is huge. Weaseling info out of that guard was hard enough. After that, putting Grace in, and figuring out how to use the cameras. Then working my way back without looking suspicious was a whole different story," he explained briefly.

Suddenly, their walkie-talkie rang, and Sycamore responded.

"Grace?"

The voice that responded was tight with fear.

"You need to split up. Now. You don't have enough time to get the antidote and then head back, " she said, her voice shaking a little.

"What's wrong?" Sycamore asked, while the others waited in silence.

"Fiona. Something has happened in there, and she's about to run my daughter through with that knife," Grace said, her voice betraying her fear.

 **Author's Note: And welcome back! This chapter was fun to write, and, to be honest, I was a little doubtful about Fiona and Delia, but I'm enjoying writing about it. Now, that little flashback was obviously before the previous one. I haven't been keeping too well lately, so I was beyond exhausted when I wrote this chapter. But I enjoyed myself.**

 **Now, before I disappear to another week of exams, a big, big thank you to Amourshiper35, Strawhat Quilava, YellowFlashCannon, Rajiv A. Rajaram and 1 guest for reviewing. And a big thanks to my awesome readers as well. See you all on Monday!!**

 **Review and keep smiling,**

 **Leaflame.**


	29. Please read this

Hey there, everyone.

A lot of people have been saying that I've been copying, or at least mimicking someone else's work. The author in question is actually one of my favourites. The idea of putting Ash and his friends in a tournament had always been sitting in my mind, and I thought that it would be fun to write. I was aware that the author had also written a story about a tournament, but I never meant to copy the author's story, or make anyone feel like that. True, the content titles and a little bit of the style are similar, but that's all. This author inspired me to start writing in the first place. If you're reading this, then I hope that you can see that I have realised that I am not a fan of mimicking other people's work, being a very straightforward person myself. Please don't take this the wrong way.

Sincerely,

Leaflame.


	30. A Rescue

**Aaand I'm back! So, shall we begin with this climax? Also, there's not long left now. I'll elaborate on that down below, but I promise that this chapter will seriously set the stage for the final climax. Let's go!**

Chapter 29: A Rescue

Delia, Professor Sycamore and all the others present stiffened visibly as they heard Grace's words.

"Please, hurry," she said.

"We will do all that we can, Grace. Don't worry," Professor Sycamore said, his brow knitting. "Serena will be fine. Just tell me where the rooms are," he said.

Grace told him the directions, purposefully raising her voice so that the others could hear.

"Both rooms need a key card. Every guard has one. You'll have to knock the guards out at the entrance

He turned to the others, his eyes grim.

"You heard her. We need to split up," he said, his eyes dark. "Bertha, Caitlin, Alder, Seabold and I shall go find the antidote, and figure out a way to deliver it to the trainers. The rest of you head to the catacombs, and hurry!" Professor Sycamore said. Flint and Cynthia led that group, with Delia close behind. She seemed to have an uncanny knowledge of the arena.

They raced through a maze of corridors, hoping and praying that they wouldn't find a dead girl and a broken boy when they reached.

They encountered the first guard. Unlike the other guards, his uniform bore a blue badge on the shoulder. A quick glance at their disguises showed that they lacked them.

"You are unauthorized. You cannot pass," he said.

"I don't think so!" Delia cried. "Mister Mime, Double Slap!"

A few seconds later, the guard lay dazed on one side of the corridor. There was another patter of footsteps as another guard came to see what was wrong. He joined his colleague on the floor. A quick fish in their pockets got them two key cards. Diantha and Cynthia slipped them into their pockets, and put on the badges for good measure. More footsteps sounded. An alarm began to blare.

Flint's eyes glinted.

"Line up between Cynthia and Diantha and look guilty!" he hissed.

Realizing his plan, they did as he said. Cynthia and Diantha drew their hoods over their faces.

Three more guards quickstepped over.

"We were informed that there was an intrusion here?" one of them asked. This one was a girl, and pretty at that. Cynthia heard a sigh from Flint, and kicked him in the shins. He let out an imperceptible grunt.

"They were apprehended. They have also stolen the badges of these guards. Take them to the infirmary. We shall take these intruders to Fiona," Cynthia said, schooling her voice into the same emotionless monologue and hoping that they took the bait.

The others slumped their shoulders and looked as downtrodden and guilty as possible. Delia made a mental note to never tell Ash that she had slouched like this.

"Consider it done," the second guard said, while the third wordlessly picked up one guard, and the girl the other. They walked away. As soon as they were out of earshot, the group continued their race to the catacombs, knocking out guard after guard as they went, until they stood in front of the door. The guards in front of them bristled. A few commands and a few well-placed Pokemon attacks fixed that problem. Cynthia took out the card, and pressed it against the electronic lock.

"NO!" Clemont shouted, along with Dawn and Bonnie.

Fiona was not impressed.

"I haven't taken care of you yet?" she said, her nose wrinkling.

There was a hiss, and after a few feeble struggles, Clemont, Dawn and Bonnie joined the others.

Ash took one look at the knife and his blood roared through his skull. Images of Serena lying in a pool of blood took over him, and his entire body screamed one word: never. But he was tied up, and so was Serena. Fiona walked towards them, her eyes glinting with the same light as her blade. Whose point was currently aimed at Serena's chest.

Then he heard something. A flurry of movement. A thud. A sound that sounded a lot like a dragon-type attack. A crunch. And then he heard voices. Familiar voices.

"You had the audacity to try and break free under me, you pretty little brat?" she drawled, her shoes clicking as she walked across the floor. Serena's tongue went dry. She didn't want to die. She had her whole life ahead of her, full of fun, happiness, adventures, lessons, and glancing at Ash… maybe love too.

"Leave Serena alone!" Ash shouted, his body tight. Tense with fear, and something else. The kiss kept replaying in his mind. Incessantly. And he had liked it. How soft her mouth was. How her breath smelled. The sound of her ragged breathing. Her hair brushing his cheeks. She had tasted sweet, but perfect at the same time. He could not, would not, lose her.

It was one of the weirdest things that had ever felt. Was this what they called being in love?

The realization hit him like a ton of bricks plus a Thunderbolt. He was in love with Serena. All of his strange feelings made perfect sense. This was what you called being in love, right?

And now she was going to die. He had to do something.

"Stop!" he yelled. Fiona stopped, staring at him quizzically.

He took a deep breath. "Take me instead," he said.

"Ash, don't you dare!" Serena cried. He looked at her. Her eyes were wide and wet.

He hated putting her through this, but he had to. Pikachu, bound to his shoulder, was shouting its disapproval into his ears.

 _Hang in there. I just need to keep her busy. If my plan works, no one is gonna die._

Fiona looked amused, almost bored. "And why should I?" she asked, drily.

"It doesn't matter if you kill me now, because when you kill Serena, I won't obey a single word of what you say, and then you'll kill me, too. Might as well finish the job off now," he said.

Fiona laughed. He could see her mood change suddenly.

"How romantic! The brave young hero! But I must adhere to your request. You have the honour of dying first," she drawled, changing course and going for him. Her silver blade glinted in the light. Up close, he could read an inscription engraved on it.

 _Remember, cursed are those who do not make the right decision, or are too afraid to do so, dear girl._

Fiona followed his gaze to the inscription and smiled. Suddenly, her features softened. Her eyes shone with a wistful light. It was the smile of a young, happy, kind girl. But it was gone in a flash.

"Enough said. I'll finish you off now!" she said, and lifted the blade. Serena and Pikachu were both crying.

He heard a click.

He breathed out at last. Just in time.

Delia's cry rang through the room.

"NOT MY SON, FIONA!"

 **Author's Note: Welcome back! That was quite an intense chapter for our heroes, Ash in particular. He had quite an epiphany, didn't he? Now, to clarify one thing, in case you didn't realize: All events in this chapter are happening simultaneously, and their timings meet at the end. Next chapter will be the main climax, and then another one or two chapters until the end, so stick with me, you guys!**

 **Now, before I go, a big, fat thank you to all my awesome readers, as usual, but as heartfelt as ever. And an extra-special thanks to Amourshiper35, YellowFlashCannon, Rajiv A. Rajaram, Captain Luky Greace, Web2theweb1 and 1 guest for reviewing! My exams have finally ended, so you can expect a fairly long chappie next time. See you guys on Monday!**

 **Review and keep smiling,**

 **Leaflame.**


	31. A Fight

**Hey there! I wasn't able to update last week because I came down with flu and sinusitis, and my head was throbbing. My mom refused to let me touch my laptop, so I shall make it up to you guys by posting the next chapter this Thursday. Hold your Horsea!**

Chapter 30: A Fight

 _Many years ago:_

All Delia could look at was the bright silver of the knife that Fiona was now washing the blood from. She hadn't wanted to believe it, but how do you explain a person holding a knife covered with blood after a murder?

And the worst thing? Fiona looked happy. Maniacally, giddily happy, beautiful in a macabre way. she giggled like a six year old as she wiped the blood from her face and hands.

Delia felt her own legs propel her forward. She felt numb. She supposed that any ordinary person would have lost themselves to fury and horror and rage and fear, but she just felt numb. She could hear her heart beat and her footsteps echo. She watched as Fiona raised her head, observed her expression flit from shock to horror to realization to anger to a chilling, fractured smile.

"Hello there," she said, almost as if they were talking over tea.

"How could you?" Delia breathed, staring at her best friend, trying to see where the girl she knew and loved had gone.

"Killed a Pokemon? Killed vermin? I have done a good deed!" Fiona said mildly, but her eyes betrayed her emotions.

"You murdered someone's best friend in cold blood! Why!? What have Pokemon even done to you!" Delia exploded, her emotions finally waking up as the horror of what Fiona had done began to sink in.

"What have they done? WHAT HAVE THEY DONE!? My family, my friends, my sisters, they all perished! Died right where they stood! They didn't deserve that, Delia! They had never done anything wrong! Yveltal killed them in cold blood! Now I WILL return the favour!" Fiona screamed, her fractured eyes blazing.

"And that's a reason to murder thousands of innocent Pokemon who did nothing to you? The only crime that they committed was being Pokemon, in your opinion. Don't punish so many for the mistake of one Pokemon! Everyone has a right to live, and you have no right to take that away from them!" Delia shouted back.

"So my family's death was a mistake! No! Yveltal meant it!"

"They tried to awaken Yveltal by themselves against the advice of almost everyone in the city! They brought this upon themselves! I'm sorry, but that's how it is!" Delia cried, punching her fist forward.

Fiona looked like she had been struck.

"You're my sister, and now you're going against me?" she said at last.

"The sister I knew would have rather died than doing this," Delia replied.

Her face contorted. For the first time that night, Delia felt fear seep into her bones.

And then she began to _laugh._

Fiona laughed and laughed and laughed, the sound like nails on a chalkboard. Delia could practically see her best friend's sanity disappearing with each grating laugh.

"How right you are," she said at last. Her face was eerily, gleefully calm.

Delia said nothing.

"The naïve little girl you knew and so replicate now died in Yveltal's rage. If we are to be enemies," she said, her voice lowering to a whisper.

Delia felt her back stiffen.

"so mote it be."

And, with a hiss of metal, Fiona lunged for her best friend, killing intent in her eyes.

The relief that gushed through Serena's veins when Delia and the LC guests plunged into the room nearly made her pass out.

She could see Ash's shoulders slump with relief, his mouth curving into a smile. His eyes met hers, and she could see that his gaze was now… well, on her mouth. He was clearly remembering their kiss. He looked up at her again, and he was smiling.

Fiona was staring at Delia, her eyes wide. Her eyes flickered from Delia to Ash, and settled on Delia again.

"So this one's your whelp, isn't he?" she drawled. "He did look familiar," she mused.

"Let my son go, Fiona," Delia said, taking a step forward. Her whole bearing had changed from that of a mother to that of a prowling lioness zeroing in for the kill, her pale skin and brown hair stark against her black guard's uniform. Ash realized with a jolt that she was wearing jeans and her blouse, having ditched her skirt, under her cloak. She looked older and younger at the same time. No. Less like a mother, and more like a very angry Pokemon trainer.

Meanwhile, Cynthia had very discreetly used Garchomp's Dragon Claw and cut Ash and Serena free.

"Why should I? It isn't like I haven't got a perfectly good reason to do so," Fiona said.

"If you value your life," Flint said, stepping forward, "you will."

"Let's not forget that you're vastly outnumbered," Diantha said, her shoes clicking as she walked up to join Delia and Flint.

"Subjugates, time for battle," Fiona said, her voice ringing. All of their friends stepped forward in an orderly line, Pokeballs in hand.

"Let's hope that we can hold her off for long enough," Diantha muttered, before tossing Gardevoir's Pokeball.

Professor Sycamore's mind whirled as he and his comrades raced down a dark corridor.

Garchomp flew next to him. He could feel Gothitelle skimming the ground gracefully along with Caitlin. The pair of them even made desperate running look stylish and graceful.

They were all in guard uniform. Suddenly, Sycamore's walkie-talkie buzzed.

He switched it on.

"Professor?" Cynthia's voice, a little more than a whisper, crackled over.

"Cynthia? Where are you, and what's going on?" he asked.

"We're at the catacombs. Professor, other than Ash and Serena, the rest are all mind-controlled. You need to hurry. You'll need special key cards and these little blue badges in order to pass, so knock out a few guards, okay? Over and out!" she finished.

Professor Sycamore's eyes flashed.

"Let's knock out some guards then. Shall we?" he offered, forgetting to flirt.

A few Pokemon attacks later, armed with blue badges and key cards, the group finally stepped into the room which held the antidote. The room was huge, and different glass bottles, a mixture of deadly poisons and fast-acting antidotes, gleamed eerily in the pale blue light of the room.

Their eyes scanned the shelves, and Seabold, with his sharp eyes, spotted a shelf which had five bottles with the label 'Serum antidote'. But there were only 5, and tightly sealed. A pale green, highly compressed gas floated inside.

Now the question was how to get it to the trainers.

"I have an idea," Caitlin said slowly.

The others turned their heads in interest. Caitlin fixed her gaze on the Professor.

"Professor, if I may, how much of the antidote is required for each trainer to be fully cured?" Caitlin asked, her emerald-green eyes piercing.

"Given their age and physical fitness, each trainer will have to take at least three breaths in the antidote's gaseous form, and two sips in its liquid form," the professor said.

"Hmmm. So how about we make them breathe it in? Getting them all to drink it would be an inelegant and inconvenient task. The gas in there is compressed, which means that it will likely expand on release. We'll shatter all five at once, so that each trainer gets ample antidote, but we must break the bottles away from Fiona and almost directly in front of the trainers," she finished, and turned to Gothitelle.

"Use Psychic and get those bottles down with grace, Gothitelle!" she commanded.

Bottles in hand, the second group raced to join the first in the catacombs.

 **Author's Note: Hello! And welcome back! So, Delia and Fiona meet again, almost 30 years later! The flashbacks will finish along with the end of the climax, in about 2 chapters. Again, I'm ever so sorry for being unable to update! Today's story was pretty self-explanatory, but one quick thing is that the final battle will pan out on Thursday, so be prepped for some fireworks!**

 **Now, before I disappear for a now short period of time, a big, big, big thank-you to all of my amazing reader, and another one to Amourshiper35, YellowFlashCannon, Rajiv A. Rajaram, kcg998 and 1 guest for reviewing! See you all on Thursday!**

 **Review and keep smiling,**

 **Leaflame.**


	32. A Meeting

**Aaaaand I'm back! This chapter is going to pretty much be a mix of flashbacks, the other groups and, of course, all our heroes. Shall we?**

Chapter 31: A Meeting

Delia braced herself for death as she felt her best friend close in on her. Her blood felt like ice. Then, she felt a Pokeball burst open, and blue light materialized in front of her.

Fiona's blade pierced her best friends' heart. Blood spattered all over her.

The brunette was cradling Pikachu, her dying friend, her blood everywhere, staining clothes, her skin, her hair. She was vaguely aware of footsteps sounding behind her, blaring lights. She didn't care. All that mattered was now.

Tears streamed down her cheeks, staining Pikachu's blood-soaked fur.

"Why did you? You silly idiot," Delia breathed, stroking her best friends' fur.

"Piikka," Pikachu whispered, its paws reaching towards her, its face frowning.

Delia schooled her face into her smile. She would help her friend in the only way she could; give it a happy sendoff.

"It's okay," she whispered. "You've done enough. You've been the best. I love you. Sleep, and wake up in a new life," she murmured, forcing her face to look peaceful and calm.

With a smile, her best friend closed her eyes forever.

Professor Sycamore and his team hared down the corridor, their footsteps echoing, as he tried in vain to remember Grace's instructions. Suddenly, a voice called out.

"Wait!"

The group turned to find four trainers standing there. Two girls and two boys. One girl, and judging by her open mouth, the girl who had called them, had fair skin and sleek brown hair and eyes. The other girl, standing beside her, was also fair, but not as alabaster as the other girl. She had large brown eyes and a long, thick blonde braid.

The two boys were so alike that Sycamore guessed that they were brothers. Ivory skin, high cheekbones, and thick brown hair. Their only difference was that one boy had blue eyes and the other, green.

"Is it urgent?" Bertha asked.

"Yes," the blonde girl replied.

"Why?"

"We know a shortcut to the catacombs. We'd be happy to take you there, and fight alongside you," the alabaster girl said.

"But why should we join up with you? How do we know that you won't betray us?" Seabold asked.

"We used to work for Fiona, but we were in the dark about all this. As far as we knew, she just wanted the trainers because she wanted them to help her with something good. This can't be farther away from that," the blue-eyed boy said.

"And now we want to make it up. You see, we all work for Fiona because we all lost people that were important to us. She promised that she would help us get them back, on the condition that we help her. She lied, and now we want to make up for being so gullible and get our revenge," the green-eyed boy said.

"How did you know that she was lying?" Caitlin asked.

"Just before all this mess began, we received orders to go wait in her office. We got there, and we saw the havoc unfold from her TV, which is connected to her cameras. Then David," she said, gesturing to the blue-eyed boy- "got angry that we'd been fooled and punched the floor. It was a false floorboard, and we found a journal underneath, in a small compaertment. We thought that it might give us some answers, so we read it, and we found out. And now we wanna fight. Please let us," the alabaster girl finished.

The group exchanged looks, and nodded. These trainers were honest.

"If we're to fight alongside you, we should know your names," Bertha said.

"I'm Sienna," the blonde said. "This is Kat, short for Katherine," she said, pointing to the alabaster girl. "These two are Mike and David," she finished, gesturing to the blue eyed and green-eyed boys in turn.

"We know who all of you are," David said, grinning. "I'm honoured!"

The now larger group hared down the corridors, knocking guards down as they ran past. Kat rode her Altaria, soaring above their heads, while Sienna's rather adorable Gothita now rested on her shoulder. David was galloping ahead and knocking out surplus guards on his Samurott, along with Mike, who was on Serperior.

 _Unovan,_ Sycamore thought.

Finally, they reached the door that led into the catacombs.

The group slowed down, quickly concealing their bottles under their borrowed guard's cloaks.

"Blastoise, Skull Bash!" Seabold murmured.

With quick thud, the doors crashed open, and they all poured into the room. A furious battle was ensuing. Delia and Fiona were facing off, circling one another like two female Pyroar about to battle.

Diantha was fighting three people at once, namely Dawn and Piplup, May and Blaziken and Meera and Espeon. The Pokemon looked like they didn't want to fight, like they knew what they were doing was wrong, but they complied to their trainer's mechanical commands.

Cynthia and Flint had paired up, and were battling against Brock and Steelix, Misty and Gyarados, Lucas and Zorua, Gary and his Umbreon , Bianca and Minccino and Cilan and his Pansage. Alder was fighting along with them, each taking up two trainers.

Ash and Serena were battling Ursula and Cathy and Clemont along with Astrid, and they were fighting hard. And all of them were losing, being outnumbered.

"Hurt them only if completely necessary. All I need you to do is to herd them into the centre of the auditorium, then we'll drop the antidote. You'll have to fight hard. They aren't the trainers that you know. They're trapped, and they won't fight like they normally will. The fighting will be brutal, but again, try not to hurt them. Go!" Professor Sycamore murmured.

They split up.

Delia was blind and deaf to everything else except for the woman standing opposite to her. Sounds of battle echoed around them, but neither of them seemed to care.

"Your whelp is even more annoying and pratty then you were," Fiona said, her eyes broken blue steel as they kept circling. No Pokemon.

"His name is Ash, and he will be a better trainer than I ever was, and far better than you and your sick mind," Delia retorted.

The final battle for Pokemon had started, and now there was no going back.

 **Author's Note: Aaaand welcome back! Now, this chapter needs a little explaining. The first scene is in the past, and it will play an important role in the next chapter. Now, herding the trainers in will be tough because they aren't acting on their own free will, so they will be brutal if necessary. Second, the catacombs are HUGE. So pulling them into one place away from Fiona will be hard. Also, the chapter's name mainly outlines Delia and Fiona, in case you were wondering.S**

 **Sadly, these Thursday updates will be rare as I will have my finals in March and high school after that. I'll try though.**

 **Now, before I go, the usual but still effusively grateful thankyou to all of my fellow Amourshippers, and a shoutout to Amourshiper35, Rajiv A. Rajaram and 2 guests for reviewing! See you guys on Monday!**

 **Review and keep smiling,**

 **Leaflame.**


	33. An Antidote

Chapter 32: An Antidote

Irrespective of the fact that she was the Kalos Champion, Diantha felt overwhelmed.

May, Dawn and Meera were all very strong, and now they weren't even in their own frame of mind. They were using their Pokemon in the most brutal, foul ways possible. This wasn't a petty battle. This was a fight to the kill.

"Piplup, bite Gardevoir and then Bubble Beam," Dawn said mechanically, pointing with all the energy and emotion of the dead.

"Blaziken, assist her. Pin the enemy down and then Blaze Kick," May said dully, merely lifting her hand.

"Espeon, hold them in place with Psychic," Meera said, her eyes glazed.

The Pokemon visibly hesitated before complying to their trainer's commands. The ran ahead. Espeon's eyes glowed blue. Gardevoir began to stiffen.

"Use Psychic on your own! Lift yourself up, then Moonblast!" Diantha yelled.

Gardevoir's eyes flashed. For a minute the two Psychic-types stood there, glaring at each other. After what seemed like a century, Espeon flinched back, and Gardevoir floated into the air.

Diantha glanced desperately at how the rest of them were faring. From what it looked like, they were all fighting bitterly for their lives. And they were losing. Cynthia, for the first time in years, had genuine panic flitting across her face, and she knew Flint well enough to know that despite his determined exterior that was his namesake, he was also more than a little scared.

Ash and Serena were fighting four people at once.

"Pikachu, use Iron Tail on Vaporeon! Greninja, Cut on Scizor!" Ash yelled, gesturing hard at his transformed Greninja and Pikachu. Greninja raced towards Mega Scizor with blinding speed, its glowing swords flashing. Scizor retaliated with the same move, and the clang of blades rang across the room.

Pikachu's tail flashed a bright white, and it launched itself at Vaporeon and nailed it clean across the face, sending it flying backward.

Serena, standing beside him, was having a harder time.

"Braixen, use Hidden Power on Luxray! Sylveon, Fairy Wind at Absol!"

The attacks hit with due strength, but the Pokemon didn't look fazed. If anything, both Luxray and Mega Absol looked uncertain, glancing anxiously at their trainers before launching their attacks with a sort of resignation. Serena felt her heart wrench. Loyal to the end.

Ideally, she and Ash should be winning. But first, they were afraid of hurting their friends. Second, the latter were fighting dirty. Very dirty. Ash and Serena had both had to jump out of the way of multiple attacks on multiple occasions. She knew that they were losing.

Until the door flew open with a resounding crash, and a whole new load of fresh, battle-hungry people poured in. Ash noticed four newcomers, though. Two boys and two girls, all fairly good-looking. Instinctively, he began to assess them in a way only a trainer could assess another.

Their eyes were flashing, and their shoulders were back. Their stances showed that they were ready for battle. They were all airborne, he realized. A girl with silky brown hair sat on the back of a graceful Altaria, while the boy with blue eyes sat atop a Samurott, and the green-eyes boy, alike enough to the former to be his brother, was on the back of a Serperior.

The second girl was floating in the air with a Psychic, a strong but pretty Gothita beside her, her thick blonde hair waving.

Cynthia saw Fiona's head jerk around, breaking eye contact with Delia for the first time. Her gaze landed on the four trainers, and her face contorted.

"YOU!" she screamed, glaring at the four. "Traitors!"

"Yeah, right!" the brunette shouted, jabbing a pale finger in Fiona's direction. "You lied to and betrayed all of us! You knew where all our loved ones were, and you still kept us in service, making us believe that once we finished, you would take us on this huge search and find them _when you knew all along!_ " she yelled, her voice shaking at the end. The Altaria gave an indignant caw and puffed its feathers up in Fiona's direction.

"Like we'd ever work for you! Escpecially after- _WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO LUCAS!"_ the blue-eyed boy yelled, his eyes widening in horror as his gaze landed on his mind-controlled friend.

Fiona sneered. "He's one of my loyal subjugates. Lucas, come here and finish off these traitors," she drawled.

With movements that seemed almost too robotic to be human, Lucas walked forward until he was at battling distance with his four best friends.

"Lucas, please," the blonde girl whispered. "I-we can't fight you!"

"Zorua, use Shadow Ball on the traitors," Lucas said mechanically, swiping a hand at the four.

They didn't fight back. They simply flew out of the way, and landed back together again.

"You're stronger than this! Break free!" the green-eyed boy yelled.

"Fight it!"

"Don't give in to her!"

"I know you can do it!"

And for a split second, he flinched.

His body convulsed. His eyes suddenly returned to their normal blue. "G-guys, get out of here. I-I can't hurt you, but I don't think that I'll have a c-choice!" he choked out before the serum overtook him again. The blonde girl choked back a sob.

Fiona scowled. "Subjugates, assist this weakling," she muttered, swiping her hand.

The entire group that was Misty, Brock, Meera, Cilan, Gary and Bianca walked over and flanked Lucas, staring menacingly at the newcomers. Flint and Cynthia leaned against each other, exhausted.

Two champions had been tough. But six against four on a trainer's basis, especially when your adversary fights dirty, seemed close to impossible.

They didn't get the chance to act. Sienna and Caitlin exchanged glances. Perfect. They could free 6 here.

"Gothita, pin them down! Psychic!" Sienna commanded, flinging an arm out at the six trainers that now faced them.

Suddenly, the six found themselves as still as statues, and they couldn't break free under the little Psychic-type's iron grip.

Caitlin whipped a glass bottle from under her kimono and threw it hard against the trainers, the bottle shattering at their feet. The dark green gas expanded as soon as it was released, like a giant stretching after it had been trapped in a miniscule prison.

Kat got their plan.

"Altaria, I need a light Gust!" she cried.

The Pokemon flapped its wings, and sent a blast of wind that forced the trainers to breathe the antidote in.

The change was immediate.

Misty felt her body snap into her control again. She had watched in horror at the things she had been doing, and had fought bitterly hard, but it felt like her consciousness had been weighed down with iron chains.

She heaved a sigh of relief. _Wait… where's Gary?_ She felt a sinking feeling in the pit of the stomach. Whatever happened, she would not, could not fight him. She would rather die.

Her eyes scanned the room, and suddenly she saw Gary a few feet away from her, shaking the antidote off of his body. Relief rushed through her veins. Dear God, she loved that boy. She wasn't as dense as Ash was, but she had figured that Gary already liked someone else, having never been anything but platonic to her. She had seen the Kanto girls sigh a little as he walked past. Surely there had to be someone who was not her. Someone pretty and strong and a little ladylike.

Not like her ruffian self.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't hear his footsteps as he walked toward her, didn't realize how close he was until he grabbed her shoulders, turned her around and kissed her.

Her breath rushed out in a gasp. His hands were warm. His lips were soft. And he was kissing HER.

He pulled away, his breathing raspy. "You'll fight next to me?" he asked.

She took his hand. "Always. Now let's free the others!"

They held hands and raced into the fray.

 **Author's Note: Just because a chappie doesn't air on Monday doesn't mean it won't air at all. As you all can obviously see, the final showdown will be next week. This chapter essentially set the stage. I finally made Egoshipping loud and clear, if it wasn't obvious enough already! This chapter, was again pretty self-explanatory, so now comes my favourite part. Big, big, big thank yous to all of my amazing readers, and another big one to Amourshiper35, Rajiv A. Rajaram, and 2 guests for reviewing! See you all on Monday!**

 **Review and keep smiling,**

 **Leaflame.**


	34. Best Friends

**Aaand we're at the main, main, main climax! This'll be the third-to-last chapter, so be prepared for a few fireworks!**

Chapter 33: Best Friends

Ash exhaled the breath that he'd been holding as soon as Misty, Gary, Meera, Lucas, Cilan, Brock and Bianca were cured. Six down, but there were still many to go. Dawn, Clemont, Bonnie (yes, even Bonnie), May… this was no time to relax.

Also, now that a large amount of their number had been released, the others were fighting dirtier than ever. Their four encircled them, and Ash and Serena stood back-to-back, their Pokemon in front of them.

"Luxray, use Thunder Fang on Serena," Clemont said mechanically.

Serena felt Ash's back stiffen against her own. Luxray threw another desperate glance at Clemont, and looked uncertainly at Serena before backing away, whimpering slightly.

Clemont unleashed his Aipom Arm and it swung towards the electric-type. Serena felt a rush of fury erupt in her veins.

"Clemont, don't do this," Ash whispered, barely suppressed anger colouring his voice.

The arm whistled through the air. Serena swung her arm out, about to make a command as the arm swung towards Luxray.

And stopped.

Serena's head jerked up, and she saw Clemont with his hand pressing a button on the strap of his backpack. His entire body was shaking. But his eyes were the biggest difference. They were Clemont's eyes. Not some mind-controlled subjugates'.

Luxray was gazing at its trainer, its eyes wide with surprise.

"L-Luxray," he said, his words halting, almost as though he was dragging them out of his mouth.

Ash was now looking over her shoulder, his breath flitting across her bare shoulder. She couldn't suppress the shiver that flared up her spine.

Clemont continued to speak.

"Don't let me do this. I can't hurt them, or you!" he gasped out before the serum took control again.

Luxray bounded over to Serena and stood in front of her, alongside her own Pokemon, and gave Serena a look over its shoulder. The meaning couldn't be any clearer. Luxray would fight alongside her.

Ash heard a clink. He saw a clear-eyed Astrid pull her Keystone earring off and let it fall to the ground, and whipping out Absol's Pokeball and drawing it back in. She gave Ash and Serena a last nod before her eyes clouded over. Serena felt something tap near her feet, and saw Scizor's Pokeball lying there. Her eyes flickered up to Cathy's face.

"Please," she breathed before her eyes darkened.

.

Ash nodded to her and picked Scizor's Pokeball up.

Suddenly, she felt a clatter, and saw two Pokeballs near the tip of her boot.

Ursula's eyes said everything that she needed to say before they clouded over like a fog.

Relief was gushing through his veins. So this could be fought after all! He felt Serena's shoulders sag.

But it was a short-lived victory. Almost as though the serum was punishing them, they began to fight dirtier than ever. Astrid busted out her Pyroar, while Clemont called for Bunnelby. Cathy wasted no time in calling for Hitmonlee. Ursula summoned Minun.

"Bunnelby, use Double Slap," Clemont said dully, gesturing outwards.

"Pyroar, Fireblast!"

"Hitmonlee, High Jump Kick,"

"Minun, Discharge."

The four Pokemon, looking anxious and confused, obeyed their trainer's orders.

"Sylveon, use Fairy Wind!" Serena called, as the pink gust of air blew both physical attacks off balance.

"Pikachu, Electroball! Greninja, Water Shuriken!" Ash yelled. With a loud, fiery explosion, the Electroball met the Fireblast, and a mushroom cloud of smoke billowed up and out, while the collision of the Discharge and the shuriken added to it.

For a minute, the whole world was quiet.

Serena turned around and was face-to-face with Ash. His face was so close to hers that she could count his eyelashes, and feel his breath waft across her face.

It wasn't so hard for Ash to lean in and close whatever few millimetres of gap that separated them, for his hands to grip her shoulders. It only lasted for a few seconds, but when Ash turned around, his mouth was tingling, his lips curving up into a smile.

"Promise me you'll be careful," he whispered as the smoke began to clear. She pressed against him, kissing him lightly on his cheek.

"I promise."

The smoke cleared, and Cathy was the first to act.

"Grab Sylveon's feelers and show it the price of disobedience," she drawled.

Hitmonlee picked up a thrashing Sylveon by its feelers and whirled it around its head in a dizzying spiral, Sylveon wailing painfully.

Horror poured through Serena's veins. "Braixen, we need to stop this! Scratch!"

Her fiery partner leaped forward and raked its claws down Hitmonlee's face. It recoiled, and Sylveon landed lightly, shook itself off, gave Hitmonlee a disdainful look and walked over to Serena. Despite its confident demeanor, it had still taken damage.

"Pyroar, bite Pikachu's tail, and throw it," Astrid said.

Pyroar, looking truly horrified now, grabbed Pikachu's tail and lifted the tiny mouse above its head, and whirled it around and around over and over.

"Thunderbolt!"

Pikachu screamed, and yellow electricity travelled down the length of its tail and sent Pyroar flying. It hit a section of the roof, which rumbled with an ominous crack.

"Bunnelby, use Mud Shot on the imbeciles," Clemont said woodenly.

Six bolts of mud came raining down on the couple.

"Greninja, Water Shuriken!" Ash cried.

A glowing star blade of water sliced through the muddy bolts, whacked Bunnelby hard and came flying back to Greninja.

Suddenly, Ash felt cold vines lift him, tying him up perfectly straight. His head jerked to where Fiona was standing. Her skin looked like a sheet, her eyes polychromatic and mad. She was giggling like a little girl. All around him, he could see his friends being tied up.

"Time for round two," she drawled.

"NO!" a voice cried, splitting the air. Ash looked up to see the girl on the Altaria flying above their heads, clutching a dark green bottle.

Fiona snarled and began to type on her keypad.

"You are NOT going to ruin any more lives!" she shouted, and tossed the bottle. The glass shattered on impact with the sound of a bell ringing. The dark green gas began to expand, growing wider by the second. Cathy, Astrid, Clemont and Ursula were engulfed in it.

After what seemed like an eternity, the smoke cleared.

Astrid burst out and ran for Absol, who nearly tackled her to the ground in a joyful hug.

"Thank goodness," Serena breathed.

Gary and Misty had paired up along with Lucas and Meera, and they were now fighting hard against Dawn, May, and about fifty thrashing vines that Fiona had sent after them.

She was now officially in a frenzy, having lost full control after Clemont, Astrid, Cathy and Ursula had been freed, and shouting gutturally, sending vines erupting from the floors of the catacombs.

"We need to stop those vines," Gary muttered.

"Garchomp, use Dragon Claw!" Cynthia said.

With a swift leap, Garchomp slashed Fiona's controller in half and jumped back to a safe distance. The vines sank back into the ground.

Sienna dropped her bottle amongst the last three. With a burst of green smoke, Meera, Dawn, May and Iris received their cures. Meera immediately tackled her brother in a tight hug, which he returned wholeheartedly.

They all turned and faced Fiona.

"Fiona, you've lost. Give it up," Ash said.

"No," she replied, and pulled a test tube out of her pocket.

"This is a plague that will infect and kill anyone within a fifty-mile radius, Pokemon especially. All I have to do is just drop it," she breathed. The palm of her hand opened.

"NO!" Ash yelled, lunging forward to catch the bottle.

He never had the chance. Delia stooped and caught the bottle.

"Serena, get Braixen to use Flamethrower!" Delia yelled, and tossed the bottle high into the air.

Braixen obliged.

With a burst of brilliant purple fire, Fiona's last stand was over.

With a guttural cry, she turned, and flung her sabre towards Delia.

Ash cried out and stepped forward. Delia closed her eyes.

Mr. Mime ran ahead, and with a quick Reflect, and the blade went flying back.

It turned, and with the accuracy of a Keen Eye, impaled Fiona's chest.

She let out a low, choking sound, and collapsed. Delia ran forward, and caught her.

Fiona opened her eyes. Ash gasped. They were clear. They didn't look fractured now. Death had brought her sanity.

"Sister, I'm so sorry," she breathed. "You don't know what I've done… how sick I've been," she murmured, looking up at Delia.

"Sshhh," Delia murmured. "None of that matters now," she breathed. "H-he made me like this. I-I met him in secret. F-find him. S-stop his grand design. H-his name is Castarius. And… please, Delia, don't ever lose Ash," Fiona said, looking over at him and smiling. "He's the son I never could've borne. Maybe, just maybe, I set him on the right path, even with the way I was," she breathed.

"You did. Fee-fee, why do you have to die?" Delia whispered.

"I deserve it. Maybe I'll go to heaven. I'll wait for you… sister," she whispered, reaching up to touch Delia's face one last time before her eyes gazed at nothing more.

At last, the battle had been won.

 **Author's Note: That chapter was so hard to write, especially Fiona's death. I wanted her to be happy in her final moments. She deserved as much. But it was fun, and I wanted to give this story the finale it deserved. I hope that I've done so.**

 **Now, before I go, a big, big thank you to all of my brilliant readers who have supported me thus far, and another heartfelt shoutout to Amourshiper35, Rajiv A. Rajaram, and 3 guests for reviewing. Sometimes the simplest explanation is the best one.**

 **Review and keep smiling,**

 **Leaflame.**


	35. A Confession

**At long last, the very last chapter! It's been a while, and now this tale is at its end. Sad, huh?**

Chapter 34: A Confession

Fiona was laid to rest in the Pallet Town cemetery. The dull colours suited the occasion perfectly. Serena stood at her grave. The League had wanted it unmarked, but Delia had insisted. So, now a simple but elegant granite headstone marked the place where she lay.

Fiona had seemed so lost, so insane when they had first met. The woman who lay dying in her best friends arms seemed like a different person.

What had that man done to her? What had Delia's childhood been like? When had it all changed so drastically? Serena didn't know, but she hoped that wherever she was, Fiona was at peace and happy.

Speaking of peace, Serena was pretty sure that she was anything but. She and Ash hadn't spoken much since the catacombs, but that kiss had left her lips tingling every time she looked at him.

She laid the red-and-white fiona flowers that grew wild in Kanto on the pale granite and walked back to Pallet.

"Gary, here's some stuff to drink that Brock sent!" he said, holding the delicious-smelling drinks out to Gary, who was helping to rebuild the shattered arena.

Gary, Lucas, Mike, David, Clemont and pretty much every able male and female were helping to fix the mess that Fiona had left behind. Traces of the serum had been found everywhere, and it had taken a week and a half just to clean away every trace of the harmful chemical. The catacombs had been the hardest, because they had had to clean up all the blood, serum and cannula out of the ground. How Fiona had done it in the first place was a miracle of stealth and tech.

Ash didn't want to think about the catacombs, because that thought led to the idea of Serena nearly dying in one of the most painful, bloody ways possible.

The thought still made him shiver.

But there had been some plus points. The kiss had been one of 'em.

He had been meaning to talk to her about it, and tell her about what he felt for her, but his mouth would go as dry as a desert as soon as he got within ten feet of her.

"Dreaming about a certain blue-eyed performer, Ashy-boy?" Gary asked, his eyebrows raised mischievously.

"I hate to agree, but yeah," Ash replied. "Thinking about Misty?"

It was Gary's turn to respond. "How could I not?" he asked, his voice husky. Then, as if to lighten up the moment, he grabbed one of the drinks that Ash had been holding and gulped it down.

"This tastes great," he commented.

"Glad you liked it!" Ash replied, and walked off to find Clemont.

As soon as Ash had walked off, Gary turned back to the wall that him and his Pokemon were rebuilding when he heard footsteps again. He turned around and his gaze was met by orange hair and verdigris eyes. His stomach chose this opportune moment to start doing backflips.

"Need something to drink?" Misty asked, holding out a bottle of water.

"Thanks, but Ash already got me something to drink," Gary replied, immediately nervous that she was going to walk away.

"Oh," she replied, her eyes clouding. "See you at dinner, then?" she asked.

"Yeah," Gary replied.

He turned to get back to the wall, but light fingers tapped his shoulders.

He turned around, opening his mouth to speak, but he never got the chance as Misty smashed whatever chances he had of speaking with a well-placed, fierce kiss.

His senses blew up. The world suddenly seemed a few shades brighter, but he was blind to it as he closed his eyes and leaned against the wall and pulled her nearer, his hands on her waist and neck.

She drew back, and for a minute they were quiet.

"I think I have some confessing to do," Misty began.

He kissed her again.

"Hey, I know," he replied.

"And I feel the same way."

Serena wasn't just hungry. She was flat-out starving. Ash-style. So why was she so scared to go to dinner? Probably because Ash was gonna be there.

"Braix," came a stern voice from next to her. Braixen stood there, glaring at her, and its gaze seemed to say _I know that you're planning to miss dinner. It's not happening, so don't even think about it._

"I know," she said. "Thanks, Braixen."

The dinner was at Delia's house, and the house in question was filled to bursting.

Ash and May were destroying every piece of food that was brought up to them, with Bonnie and Dawn coming pretty close. Clemont watched Bonnie from the shadows Iris chided Ash non-stop for being a kid, while Cilan recited sonnet after Pokemon connoisseur-ish sonnet regarding Delia's food. Kat, Sienna, Mike, David, Lucas, Meera and Cathy were sitting in a circle and talking amiably. Brock was in heaven, flirting with every pretty lady in sight, and Croagunk trailed after him with the air of an exhausted nanny trailing after a rambunctious toddler. Misty and Gary dug into their food, and all of the Pokemon ate and talked and the male ones, especially Hawlucha and Charizard exchanged manly poses. Professor Sycamore chatted with Professor Oak, and Alder trailed after Cynthia with the air of a lovesick puppy.

Cynthia herself was devouring any food that her eyes saw. The other Champions laughed and smiled witheringly.

Serena, after finally finishing her food, walked up to Ash, and tapped his shoulder lightly. He turned, and she could've sworn she saw his back stiffen.

"I need some fresh air. You wanna come?" she asked. "Sure!" he said brightly. The two turned and walked out the door, completely unaware of the mischievous looks that were exchanged behind them.

The night air was cool. The stars were shining, and Serena's stomach was performing more flips than a deranged Medichamp.

"Ash, I need to talk to you," she began.

"I need to talk to you too," he replied.

"You go first!" they both said at once, and laughed shyly.

"I'm serious, though," Ash said. "I'll go first."

He took a deep breath, and began to speak.

"I'm not too great at this," he said, "but I'll try."

"When Fiona was coming to you with that knife, all I could think of was how would I live with myself if you died that day? What would I do? It shook me up so much it scared me. I didn't want to stay without you. You're strong, brave, smart and just awesome, and I can't help it, but I love you, Serena," he said, his words tumbling out in a rush.

The last five words hit Serena like a sledgehammer. I love you. It had been so plain, so simple, so blunt, and so perfect.

"Ash, ever since I met you all those years ago, you were this boy I had always wanted to meet. I kept your handkerchief with me, hoping to meet you for so long. Then I saw you again, and in the weirdest possible way. You were leaping off of Prism Tower to save Pikachu, and I was terrified that you were going to die. But you didn't, and then I met you, and every single time Miette would tease me, and every single time you would surprise me or scare me with you recklessness, all I could think of was that I love this boy. I love you, Ash, whether you like it or not." she finished.

It wasn't so hard for him to lean in and kiss her, for his hands to hold her back and face, and it wasn't so hard for her to kiss him back and to grip his shoulders, and it wasn't so hard for the trainers peeking excitedly out of the windows to let out a long, loud cheer now that Operation Get Ash with a Girl was a success, and their world was now safe.

 _The End_

 **Author's Note: Because sometimes the shortest words are the best. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for sticking with me on my first long-chapter journey, and for making it the success that it has been. Thank you for sticking with me throughout the missed updates and the sick breaks, and thank you for all your love and support.**

 **I'll put up a list of all my awesome followers and favoriters tomorrow, but a big thanks to Amourshiper35, Rajiv A. Rajaram and 1 guest for sticking with me throughout.**

 **Now, on a brighter note, this story shall have a sequel! The title and summary are a secret, but it will air on the 5** **th** **of March, 2018. I'll post a few oneshots in between, but that's all for now.**

 **Review and keep smiling,**

 **Leaflame.**


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